David Letterman Rips Jimmy Kimmel Suspension

David Letterman‘s got a lot to say about ABC putting Jimmy Kimmelon the sidelines … and he’s taking some swipes at President Trump‘s administration.

The legendary late-night talk show host said ABC pulling the plug on Kimmel under pressure from the Trump administration for some controversial Charlie Kirk killer comments signals dark times ahead.

Letterman, speaking Thursday at The Atlantic Festival, said … “We all see where this is going, correct? It’s managed media.”

He ripped ABC brass for throwing Kimmel under the bus … “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian, a criminal administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.”

Letterman said he never caught flak for making fun of past presidents when he was on CBS and NBC back in the day, recalling … “The point is beating up on these people, rightly or wrongly, accurately or perhaps inaccurately in the name of comedy, not once were we squeezed by anyone from any governmental agency, let alone the dreaded FCC.”

He added … “Everyone sort of understood, in the name of humor, why not? And by the way, the institution of the President of the United States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show, you know? It just — you really ought to be bigger.”

ABC suspended Kimmel on Wednesday after FCC chairman Brendan Carr ripped Kimmel for his Kirk comments and suggested the FCC might take action against the broadcaster.