On September 17, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel faced suspension following controversial comments about the passing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. However, after a wave of backlash from progressive circles, he was soon reinstated.
Returning to the spotlight, Kimmel opened his show by quoting former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post: “I can’t believe ABC fake news gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.”
Quickly firing back, Kimmel retorted, “You can’t believe they gave me my job back. I can’t believe we gave you your job back!”
While this exchange drew cheers from liberal audiences, it prompted me to wonder, “Why not, Jimmy?” Frankly, I find it entirely believable.
The Illusion of Liberal Complacency
Kimmel’s return has brought relief to many within the American liberal establishment-not because they have taken this moment to confront the authoritarian tendencies of Trump’s movement, but because it allows them to resume their comfortable denial. Rather than facing harsh realities, they retreat into cognitive dissonance, historical amnesia, and a willful ignorance that sustains systemic white privilege within a society built on racial hierarchies.
Many liberals perceive Trump and his base as a temporary aberration, confident that the political pendulum will eventually swing back to a familiar liberal order.
In truth, there is little fundamental opposition between liberal and right-wing elites. Both camps serve the interests of empire, with liberals merely dressing their policies in humanitarian rhetoric.
They jointly uphold systems that perpetuate the marginalization of vulnerable communities: privatized healthcare and education, exploitative labor practices, mass incarceration, militarized policing, censorship, corporate influence in politics, and aggressive foreign interventions. Liberals cloak these realities in discussions about human rights, the rule of law, and diversity.
While aligning with conservative agendas, liberals have targeted the left as the primary adversary. They have not only undermined progressive movements within their own ranks but have also ignored right-wing efforts to suppress dissent. Their goal is to sideline the revolutionary left, which poses the most significant challenge to entrenched capitalist oppression.
This dynamic explains why liberals often downplay assaults on fundamental freedoms such as the right to protest and free speech.
Consequently, the liberal establishment has inadvertently paved the way for the rise of fascism both domestically and internationally.
The Palestinian Struggle as a Mirror of Liberal Hypocrisy
The ongoing repression of Palestinian demands for justice and equality starkly illustrates the duplicity of liberal politics and its role in accelerating the United States’ slide toward authoritarianism.
Long before Israel’s intensified military campaign in Gaza, liberal politicians promoted illusions like the “two-state solution” and endless “peace negotiations,” which effectively legitimized apartheid and disenfranchisement in Palestine. They ensured the continued flow of American military aid to Israel, enabling increasingly violent assaults on Palestinian civilians.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have championed anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) legislation at federal and state levels, signaling bipartisan consensus in suppressing resistance to US and Israeli policies. They have also embraced the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which has been weaponized to silence legitimate criticism.
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalated-with widespread bombings, torture, abductions, and starvation-liberal leaders and the Biden administration maintained their support for Israel, further eroding international legal norms. They cracked down on anti-war demonstrations, curtailing core American liberties, and muted Palestinian voices at the Democratic National Convention-a move that arguably contributed to the party’s electoral setbacks.
This suppression of dissent against US-Israeli actions laid fertile ground for the authoritarian tactics later embraced by Trump.
Seizing this momentum, the conservative Heritage Foundation launched “Project Esther” in October 2024, a strategic plan designed to extend Biden-era policies by targeting anti-colonial activism through restrictions on constitutional rights and attacks on academia and scholarship.
These Orwellian initiatives are now in full swing, while many liberals remain in denial, unwilling to confront their complicity in the current crisis.
Lessons from the Past
The current liberal establishment is repeating a tragic pattern: marginalizing leftist ideas while welcoming right-wing forces, effectively lubricating the rise of fascism.
In the 1920s and 1930s, German liberals made similar concessions to reactionary powers, viewing socialism-and the potential loss of privilege-as a greater threat than fascism. Prioritizing “order” and “stability” over justice, they facilitated the persecution of communists and anarchists, which ultimately enabled Adolf Hitler’s ascent and the outbreak of World War II.
Today’s cautious US liberals are content with the status quo and avoid confrontation, even as Trump openly undermines the Constitution. Much like the Weimar liberals who underestimated fascism until it was too late, contemporary liberals participate in silencing and scapegoating the left rather than challenging reactionary forces.
This approach persists even as Trump violates the unspoken rules of the American elite-exploiting others but sparing his own class.
The liberal mindset remains unchanged since Trump’s first term, exemplified by a classic Saturday Night Live sketch where a shocked white liberal exclaims, “Oh my God, I think America is racist,” to which a Black character dryly replies, “Oh my God … my great-grandfather told me something like that. He was, like, a slave or something.”
Despite his flaws, Trump astutely exposes the weaknesses, corruption, and hypocrisy within liberal politics.
In his Truth Social tirade following Kimmel’s reinstatement, Trump added: “Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE… I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me 16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers!”
The audience responded with laughter once again.
Ultimately, liberals continue to fuel disaster, applauding and laughing at the turmoil they claim to oppose, all while appeasing the corporations that bankroll their campaigns.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of this website.
