"Jimmy Kimmel Live" was indefinitely suspended by ABC. Randy Holmes/Disney/Getty Images

Weaponize the levers of government for partisan political gain. Pressure privately owned media companies to toe the party line. Punish the owners who resist and reward the ones who acquiesce.

That’s how Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán consolidated control of the media in his country, according to scholars who witnessed Hungary’s democratic backsliding firsthand.

President Trump and his allies appear to be running the same playbook against media outlets in the US.

Using legal maneuvers, financial incentives and public pressure campaigns, Trump is persuading companies to make changes that benefit his party and bolster his own power. Wednesday’s decision by Disney’s ABC to sideline Jimmy Kimme

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