He said FCC Chair Brendan Carr was “Trump’s little ferret” who was operating the “Brendan Carrtel” that is “coming for us again.” But the name-calling was just about the only whiff of humor over several minutes in his monologue.

Kimmel, who was temporarily yanked off the air in September for a Charlie Kirk remark that angered conservatives, was fretting over the FCC’s attempt to dictate which political guests he can have.

“And that’s how every talk show has operated since then. Until this week, when Trump’s little ferret in the FCC, Brendan Carr, who as you know is doing everything he can to shut us up the ‘easy way or the hard way,’ is trying to say we no longer qualify for the bona fide news exemption when it comes to interviewing candidates,” Kimmel said. “Which is a sneaky little way of keeping viewpoints that aren’t his off the air. It’s his latest attack on free speech and it’s a joke.”

“I have no idea what the outcome of this is gonna be,” Kimmel added. “We’ll find out. ... I want to just point it out because it is another example of this administration trying to squash anyone who doesn’t support them.”

The comedian eventually segued into a regular segment of Trump and others being awkwardly bleeped in “This Week In Unnecessary Censorship.”