Brian Stelter

But look, that's notable, right?

Sometimes these late night stories, they erupt.

So think about Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.

Sometimes this stuff does get aired in public and this time it hasn't.

Maybe that's number one, these two camps really do like each other.

But number two, Kimmel knows his power right now, doesn't he?

He has this free speech platform

And he's making it about so much more than himself.

He's telling his viewers if they come for Jimmy Fallon next, you better speak out ten times as loudly.

He's telling his viewers Trump's trying to destroy American journalism.

He pointed to the Pentagon implementing new restrictions on journalists at the Pentagon.

He is using his platform to make this about so much more than one late night show.

You know what I mean?

I agree with you, and I went looking through his YouTube views this morning trying to get a sense of what viewers want, right?

At least online, on streaming.

What do viewers want out of Kimmel?

And what I found was very clear.

The most popular clips, the most shared clips, they are not his celebrity interviews.

They are not his sketches.

They are not his absurd segments.