In his comeback, Jimmy Kimmel struck a tone of sorrow for his controversial comments about Charlie Kirk – without saying sorry – and went on to make clear he would refuse to be cowed by his critics, chiefly Donald Trump.

Referencing last week’s remarks that led to his brief suspension by Disney, the late-night talk show host stopped short of an apology as his show returned on Tuesday.

Kimmel chose his words carefully as he said he accepted that some people felt his remarks about Kirk’s death had been “ill-timed or unclear or maybe both”, and told them: “I get why you’re upset.”

Last week, the host made a clumsy connnection between the man suspected of shooting the conservative influencer earlier this month and the “Maga gang”, and joked that Trump’s reaction was akin to “how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish”.

On Tuesday,

He stressed that he “meant it” when he posted a message sending love to Kirk’s family on Instagram last week, before this row erupted.

But Kimmel was also at pains to make clear that the furore of recent days would not force him to back off in his treatment of Trump.

In fact, being at the centre of a storm about free speech seems to have hardened his resolve.

“This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” Kimmel said to whoops from his studio audience.

After playing a clip of Trump ridiculing his low ratings, the host pointed out that the row had brought huge attention to his comeback, and sent back some ridicule in return.

“He tried his best to cancel me,” Kimmel said. “Instead he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now.”

The host added: “A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American,” before repeating for emphasis: “That’s anti-American.”

Trump has signalled that Kimmel’s return will escalate his battle with both the comedian and his network, Disney-owned ABC.

Shortly before Kimmel’s return, the president wrote that the host puts his network “in jeopardy”, that Kimmel is a Democrat mouthpiece and amounts to “a major Illegal Campaign Contribution”, and that “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this”.

“Let’s see how we do,” the president continued. “Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.”

That’s a reference to the amount Disney paid last year to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump after a star ABC anchor falsely said the president had been found “liable for rape”.

Disney’s decision to settle rather than fight that lawsuit has since been seen by some commentators as emboldening Trump to be combative with media companies.

The Disney settlement was one of several examples of Trump taking on the media in recent months – Paramount also settled with the US president over the way a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris was presented.

But a judge struck down Trump’s $15bn defamation lawsuit against the New York Times last week citing issues with its contents, and gave Trump’s team 28 days to file an amended complaint.

Kimmel also took the opportunity on his show to poke fun at Disney – and is clearly in a strong enough position to also get serious in showing his dispeasure at the firm’s decision to suspend him.

“I was not happy when they pulled me off the air,” he said. “I did not agree with that decision, and I told them that.”

In the end, “they welcomed me back on the air, and I thank them for that”, he said.

But “unfortunately and I think unjustly, this puts them at risk”, he continued.

Fellow late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers also have been targeted by Trump. “We have to speak out against it. He’s not stopping,” Kimmel said.

Kimmel took aim at US media regulator the FCC, enlisting Robert De Niro – Trump’s most vocal critic in Hollywood – to play its new chairman, and suggesting the FCC is “using mob tactics to suppress free speech”.

De Niro told Kimmel that only praise for Trump was now free, but insults would come at a price.

“You want to say something nice about the president’s beautiful thick yellow hair and how he can do his make-up better than any broad, that’s free,” De Niro said. “But if you want to do a joke like, ‘He’s so fat he needs two seats on the Epstein jet’, that’s going to cost you.” The actor struggled to suppress a smile.

Kimmel asked: “For clarity, because it’s a pretty good joke, how much would that one cost me?”

“A couple of fingers, maybe a tooth,” came the reply.

Trump’s repeated jibes about Kimmel’s ratings do have a point – all late-night shows are well below their heyday, and perhaps a part of Kimmel is relishing the renewed relevance this row has given him.

His supporters, unsurprisingly, have been buoyed by both his jokes and his unbowed tone.

Among TV critics and commentators, LateNighter founder and publisher Jed Rosenzweig told BBC News: “We’ll have to wait and see how it affects the debate, but Jimmy Kimmel proved last night that his strength as a broadcaster isn’t just in telling jokes, but in commanding the room when the stakes are highest.

“He turned a high-pressure return into a monologue that was equal parts moving, fearless, and funny.”

Hollywood news site Deadline’s Dominic Patten declared that Kimmel “more than met the moment Tuesday – like we kinda knew he would”.

Kimmel “came out swinging at President Donald Trump in a defiant monologue”, wrote Tommy Christopher on Mediaite.

“He sounded like a man speaking with the strength of his convictions,” wrote the Boston Globe’s Chris Vognar. “And now he’s got his platform back. It will be fascinating to see where this all goes in the coming days and weeks.”

However, the New York Times’ Mark Walker noted: “Some commentators on the right accused Mr Kimmel of faking his getting choked up as he discussed Mr Kirk’s death, while others did not believe he was sufficiently apologetic.”

And the Telegraph’s Kara Kennedy wasn’t impressed by Kimmel’s “self-pitying monologue”.

“Progressives may wish to paint him as a martyr; but the show goes on,” she wrote. “So much, then, for America teetering on the brink of fascism. If this is tyranny, it comes with an ABC logo, a studio audience, and the kind of recycled jokes that make you long for the ad break.”

This may be the end of Kimmel’s suspension but it feels like just the start of the next phase in the increasingly acrimonious relationship between the president and the media.