Sleeping American Giant Has Awakened vs. Trump

Donald Trump recently sued The New York Times in a complaint that CNN said read “like a pro-Trump op-ed, with page after page of gushing praise for the president.”

After Kimmel’s suspension, Disney viewers began canceling subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu, fueling what advocacy group Strength in Numbers said was the largest corporate boycott in five years — four times bigger than any other. (Photo: Los Angeles Wikimedia Commons) 

Not long after, he accused ABC’s Jonathan Karl and his employer of engaging in hate speech against him and suggested Attorney General Pam Bondi might take action.

That same week, after FCC commissioner Brendan Carr pressured ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel, Trump claimed Kimmel being “CANCELLED” was “Great News for America,” Robert Reich wrote in his newsletter.

The moves backfired.

After Kimmel’s suspension, Disney viewers began canceling subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu, fueling what advocacy group Strength in Numbers said was the largest corporate boycott in five years — four times bigger than any other.

Disney’s stock fell 3.5%, wiping out $4 billion in market value, and continued to trade lower in subsequent days. Even Sen. Ted Cruz warned of government censorship. The following Monday, Disney reversed course and put Kimmel back on air.

Trump’s poll numbers, already slipping before the crackdown, fell sharply after the week’s authoritarian moves.

Reich described the backlash as the “sleeping giant of America” waking up — a wave of popular anger at a president who shows contempt for free speech, criticism, and even satire.

“Maybe I’m being too optimistic,” Reich wrote, “but I know the signs. The giant always wakes up when some action becomes too noxious, too disrespectful of the common good. And when he does, the American people put an end to it.”