Conservatives push back on ‘woke right’ FCC censorship of Kimmel 

There’s a term floating around right now — “the woke right.” And if you haven’t heard it before, you’re about to hear it a lot. It’s being used to describe conservatives who are suddenly embracing the very tactics they’ve spent years mocking: moral shaming, loyalty tests and cancel culture-style pile-ons.  

James Lindsay — a writer who actually used to work with Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA — coined the phrase a long time ago. He warned that if conservatives kept moving in this direction, they’d be walking down a self-destructive path. Well, here we are.  

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the calls for retribution against anyone who dares criticize him have been deafening. Some conservatives want people fired, publicly shamed, even prosecuted. And here’s the irony: Charlie Kirk built his career as a warrior for free speech. Now, in his name, some of his closest allies are undermining the very thing he fought for.  

Candace Owens put it this way: “Pam Bondi, who is a complete loser and a tool, is trying to use Charlie Kirk’s assassination to lay the groundwork for hate speech laws in — the very thing Charlie was fighting against. They all just got right to work.”  

And Tucker Carlson sounded the same alarm: “You hope that a year from now the turmoil we’re seeing in the aftermath of his murder won’t be leveraged to bring hate speech laws to this country.”  

Even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called out FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s latest move against Jimmy Kimmel’s show: “That’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar, going ‘nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it’ — I like Brenden Carr but we should not be in this business. We should denounce it!”  

Now, let me pause here. Republicans are no strangers to holding each other accountable; just look at how they spar over Epstein files or call out overcorrections inside their own party. Democrats could probably learn a thing or two from that playbook. But what I can’t stomach is the selective outrage.  

For years, MAGA conservatives decried censorship, railing against so-called liberal cancel culture. But now? Some of those same voices are playing the censorship card themselves. And the biggest hypocrite of them all might be Donald Trump.  

Remember this moment from his Inauguration Day? “After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression, I also will sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.”  

Or take Elon Musk, who once boldly tweeted, “If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill. No limit. Please let us know.”  

So which is it? Free speech for all, or only free speech for people you agree with? Because right now, it looks like MAGA has gone from mocking cancel culture to manufacturing their own.  

If conservatives truly want to honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy, they can’t weaponize grief to silence dissent. That’s not protecting free speech — that’s betraying it.  

Do better. If you believe in something, fight to make it law for everyone — not just the people on your side. Otherwise, you’re not defending freedom. You’re just running your own version of cancel culture — and calling it something else. 

Lindsey Granger is a News Nation contributor and co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising.” This column is an edited transcription of her on-air commentary.