Donald Trump’s attempt to ban Jimmy Kimmel from television may have backfired, but he hasn’t given up on the idea that he can silence his critics. So, naturally, he is trying again, this time ordering his toady, FCC Chair Brendan Carr, to go after NBC’s late-night comedy host Seth Myers.
Here is a report from NPR:
Trump seems to have had enough with Meyers, as he had with late night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.
“NBC’s Seth Meyers is suffering from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS),” the president posted on Truth Social on Nov. 15. “He was viewed last night in an uncontrollable rage, likely due to the fact that his “show” is a Ratings DISASTER. Aside from everything else, Meyers has no talent, and NBC should fire him, IMMEDIATELY!”
Less than an hour later Trump’s tirade was reposted on X by Brendan Carr, chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission, the independent agency that regulates radio, TV, wire, satellite and cable across the country. …
The FCC also oversees major corporate media mergers like the one it recently approved between Paramount Global and Skydance Media. … NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers is a property of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast, one of the corporations expected to bid on Warner Bros. Discovery, a sale that will likely face scrutiny from the Trump Administration.
Freedom of speech, and particularly freedom to criticize this president, will not be safe until the power of the FCC is reined in—or at least until it is under the control of a chairman who is truly independent of Trump and dedicated to freedom of speech.
The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.
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