ABC Accuses Trump’s Fascist Communications Commission (FCC) of Violating the First Amendment

Posted by Mark NC on May 8, 2026 at 2:23 pm. 2 Comments :

The ongoing crusade by Donald Trump to erase all remnants of the Constitution, and particularly it’s First Amendment protections of freedom of the press, is perhaps the most prominent and dangerous feature of his MAGA cult movement. His authoritarian aspirations, and fear of the tenets of democracy, are the driving factors in his relentless pursuit of power.

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To that end, Trump has been directing his Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt profoundly disturbing new rules regarding “Equal Time” as a means to quash any criticism he receives on television from talk show hosts and their guests. His unambiguous aim is to assume total control over what the American people are permitted to see and hear on TV and other media.

SEE THIS: Trump’s FCC Threatens to Change ‘Equal Time’ Rules to Suppress the Free Speech of Trump Critics

The latest skirmish in Trump’s War on America comes from an unlikely combatant. ABC News, the producer of “The View” has announced that it is challenging the attempts by Trump’s FCC to dictate what they are allowed to say and who they are allowed to interview. This comes after Trump’s FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, threatened the show and the network with revoking the licenses of their affiliate stations. According to the New York Times…

“ABC has accused the Federal Communications Commission of violating its free speech rights, potentially setting the stage for a protracted, high-stakes legal battle between the network and the Trump administration.

“The company said in a filing with the agency that regulators had a ‘chilling effect’ on free speech by trying to punish political content they disagreed with. The filing, made public on Friday, is the most aggressive defense from any television network since President Trump kicked off an extended campaign last year to bring media organizations to heel.”

What makes ABC’s stance surprising is that they previously capitulated to Trump when he filed a meritless defamation lawless in December 2024. ABC agreed to settle for what amounts to a $15 million bribe in order to kiss up to the Tyrant-in-Chief.

MORE HERE: TRUMP WINS? ABC News Settles His Lawsuit Confirming that He Was Found Liable for Sexual Abuse

The Equal Time rules have been in place for decades. And throughout that time there have been exceptions for bona fide newsworthy interviews. But Trump’s notoriously fragile ego has pushed him to take vengeance on his critics and to stifle them any way that he can. The intentions of Trump and his neo-fascist FCC are to smother his critics entirely. It is not by coincidence that the Trump regime isn’t going after any right-wing programs or other MAGA media.

Furthermore, their timing is conspicuously close to the midterm elections that Trump is terrified of losing. Those predicted losses will significantly diminish his power and make him vulnerable to real congressional oversight. And Trump will do anything to avoid being held accountable for his multitude of crimes. Including muzzling the free press in an egregious breach of the Constitution.

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WTF? Trump’s FCC Expected to OK Paramount’s Takeover of CNN with BILLIONS of Middle East Dollars

Posted by Mark NC on April 28, 2026 at 1:55 pm. 2 Comments :

The state of the media business has declined precipitously during the second occupation of the White House by Donald Trump. Either they have capitulated to his threats, lied to “sanewash” his incoherent babbling, soft-pedaled his autocratic policies, or just failed to demonstrate the courage that is expected from practitioners of a free press.

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In short, the performance of much of the media amounts to simply cowardice. While there are some notable exceptions, the craven spinelessness, greed, and biases of most of the biggest media conglomerates is more than a little disturbing. And their sheepish surrender to Trump’s crybaby bullying encourages his worst totalitarian tendencies. Such as…

SEE THIS: Trump at the ‘Justice’ Department: CNN, MSNBC, and Other Media are Illegal and ‘It Has to Stop’

Trump has been carefully studying the anti-democratic tactics of his tyrannical idols Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Viktor Orbán. And the results are evident in recent interactions between the government agencies he presides over and his MAGA media pals.

For instance, Larry and David Ellison, the Trump-fluffing moguls who own Paramount Skydance, are now seeking to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. They have already gotten some preliminary approvals from Trump, his Justice Department, and his Federal Trade Commission. And now they are seeking to get a green light from the Federal Communications Commission. As reported by the Hollywood Reporter…

“Paramount has asked the Federal Communications Commission to sign off on its equity investment from three prominent Middle East sovereign wealth funds that are backing the company’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.”

Paramount is making a direct appeal to Trump flunky Brendan Carr, his FCC chair, to approve the deal for the merger, including $24 billion from “Saudi Arabia’s PIF (public investment fund), L’Imad, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, and a Qatar Investment Authority fund.” And while they say that “the sovereign funds are only acquiring non-voting equity shares,” it would still be an unprecedented arrangement wherein these foreign investors would own 49.5% of the company.

Paramount says that “the Ellison family and RedBird will…be the sole owners of Class A Common Stock, representing 100% of the voting shares.” And they think that makes things better? It actually means that these politically biased billionaire pals of Trump will be the overlords of two prominent news networks, CBS and CNN, along with all of the other assets of the combined media empire.

There are legal obstacles to foreign individuals, businesses, or governments owning U.S. media companies. The law cites national security, propaganda or political influence, and media concentration, as issues impacting approval. Under normal circumstances it would be particularly concerning for Middle Eastern entities to own such large percentages of American media.

The potential for exploiting the platforms (both news and entertainment) is obvious and worrisome. Even limited to non-voting shares, they would have significant leverage by simply threatening to sell shares, maneuvering their own competing platforms, or bailing out entirely.

Anyone who thinks that investors who own nearly half of the company wouldn’t be able to influence the company’s decisions is terminally naïve. And if those investors also happen to be tight with the U.S. administration, it just makes the potential for risk even greater.

There is literally no limit to the nefarious financial and national security mischief that they could engage in. And Trump’s Justice Department and other oversight agencies would be useless. Trump has already cleansed them of any ethical operatives. His administration, and Trump himself, would be no deterrent at all. In fact, the record shows that he would be an accomplice.

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BLLSHT: Trump’s FCC Boss Lies That ‘The Pope is Calling out America’s Fake News’ – No He Isn’t!

Posted by Mark NC on April 10, 2026 at 2:21 pm. 0 Comments :

The record of flagrant lying by Donald Trump has been well documented over the years. During his first occupation of the White House the Washington Post compiled more than 30,000 lies told by Trump in four years. Since his return to power he has exponentially increased that number.

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Trump appears determined to set new records in his second term. Not just for the quantity of lies, but also for the vast distant between his lying and reality. In recent days Trump has claimed that he won his illegal war with Iran weeks ago, despite continuing to fight it. He claims that the economy that he wrecked is the best ever. He brags that he has the highest approval ratings of any president. But even his Ministry of Propaganda, Fox News, isn’t buying most of that.

SEE THIS: Most Americans Are Fed Up With Trump’s Lies About Taxes and Spending According to Fox News Poll

On Friday Trump’s chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, was on the podcast of Benny Johnson, an ultra rightist Trump-fluffer who is known to have been paid by Russian propaganda outlets. In the course of their discussion Carr, revealed some startling news about Pope Leo XIV…

“Today, I saw the Vatican called out U.S. news outlets for being fake news for running a false story about a Department of War meme. Even the Pope is calling out America’s fake news! This all flows from President Trump.”

FCC Chair Brendan Carr: "Today, I saw the Vatican called out US news outlets for being fake news for running a false story about a Department of War meme. Even the Pope is calling out America's fake news! This all flows from President Trump."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-04-10T15:01:44.245Z

First of all, it needs to be pointed out how ridiculous it is for Carr to be complaining about “fake news” as a guest on the podcast of a Kremlin stooge. And there is only one news network that was forced to pay nearly a billion dollars for lying – that’s Fox News.

More to the point, Carr is brazenly lying about what he claims that the Pope said. There is no evidence that the Pope “called out U.S. news outlets” regarding any memes referencing the Department of Defense (For the Record: There is no such thing as the Department of War). Carr’s claim that “the Pope is calling out America’s fake news” is itself fake news. It never happened, and Carr didn’t bother to cite his alleged source.

That’s not to say that the Pope has never spoken about the media. He has. But in a measured way that encompassed all of it without any partisan leanings. For instance, the Pope recently said that…

“Often, the proclamation of truth is obscured by what we today call “fake news” — lies, insinuations, and unfounded accusations. Yet, in the face of such obstacles, the truth does not remain hidden; rather, it comes forth to meet us, living and radiant, illuminating even the deepest darkness.”

Notice that there is no mention of American media or the Department of Defense in the Pope’s remarks. He is criticizing the broader, worldwide media environment, and advocating for greater attention to be paid to truth finding. Carr made up the rest. And he is using the Pope as a prop to advance his dishonest attacks on the free press. Instead, Carr ignores the Pope’s sharp criticisms of the corporate monoliths that control so much of the media, and that are run by Trump’s billionaire buddies. Such as when…

“…he warned about the danger of having a ‘handful of companies’ be in control of so much data and be able to ‘subtly influence behavior and even rewrite human history.'” […]

“Media and communication companies cannot allow algorithms designed to win the battle for a few extra seconds of attention at any cost to prevail over their professional values, which are aimed at seeking the truth.”

That said, Carr deserves some credit for admitting that “This all flows from President Trump.” Indeed it does. The Lyin’ King is the role model for the deceitful behavior of his flunkies. They follow his lead to lie shamelessly at every opportunity. But that can’t go on for long. So they should heed the the Pope’s warning that “the truth does not remain hidden.” In a very real sense, the truth is Trump’s enemy.

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Trump’s FCC Threatens to Change ‘Equal Time’ Rules to Suppress the Free Speech of Trump Critics

Posted by Mark NC on January 22, 2026 at 12:59 pm. 0 Comments :

In Donald Trump’s ongoing campaign to nullify the First Amendment of the Constitution, and specifically it’s provisions to protect freedom of the press, he is becoming ever more flagrant and dangerous in his repressive scheming. And he is exhibiting his infamous weakness and fear of the tenets of democracy that shape American political and social principles.

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Trump is now instructing his Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to alter the long-standing rules regarding “Equal Time” in order to put an end to the criticism he receives from television talk show hosts and their guests. It’s just the latest tactic that he has deployed to control what the American people are allowed to see and hear on television and other media.

SEE THIS: HOLY CR*P! Trump Floats Executive Order to Dictate to TV Networks What They Are Allowed to Air

Trump’s new attempt to muzzle the media is an order to his FCC chairman and chief censorship czar, Brendan Carr, to alter the way the FCC regulates “Equal Time” rules. For decades there have been exceptions for bona fide newsworthy interviews, whether they take place on a news program or an entertainment related talk show. But since Trump has been the subject of so much well deserved criticism, he is seeking to stifle his critics any way that he can. According to the Hollywood Reporter…

“The FCC said Wednesday that it is clarifying its guidance on its political equal time rules, a change that could end long-standing exemptions for interviews with politicians on shows like The View, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show and The Late Show.” […]

“News interviews have long been exempted from the requirement, but the FCC under Carr is pursuing a novel argument that late night and daytime talk shows are biased to the extent that they shouldn’t qualify. Among the factors in considering the carve-out is newsworthiness.” […]

“In a statement, Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC, said the move represents an ‘escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech.’ She added, ‘Broadcasters should not feel pressured to water down, sanitize, or avoid critical coverage out of fear of regulatory retaliation.'”

It is no coincidence that Trump’s actions are aimed at programs such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Trump has been determined to shut those programs down due to their frequent jokes and satirical humor about him. Trump has never been able to take a joke. His efforts have resulted in Colbert’s program being canceled (effective in May), and he got Kimmel suspended, but for only three days when outraged viewers complained to the network.

After the FCC made its announcement regarding “Equal Time,” Trump posted a link to this story on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social. His link contained a comment that specifically referenced the ABC daytime talk show “The View” and Kimmel’s late-night talk show.

This is just another threat to First Amendment protected speech. The changes that are being floated by Trump’s FCC would make it virtually impossible for programs like Kimmel’s to ever book a political guest, or even an entertainer who has political opinions. There would be no practical way for them to also book anyone with a different opinion. And, of course, it would impinge on their free speech rights to produce programs free of government intervention.

It’s extraordinarily hypocritical that Trump and his MAGA GOP are suddenly in favor of government asserting this sort of control when they have long advocated for small government that kept out of matters such as these. Now they are craving more government interference than ever. And they are cheering Trump on when he wields the power of his office to suppress anyone who is insufficiently worshipful of him. Such as his many lawsuits against the media, including a new threat unleashed Thursday morning against pollsters who had the audacity to publish surveys showing how despised Trump is…

CRYBABY TRUMP is whining again. This time about polls that correctly show his approval ratings in the toilet.Typically, Trump lies about everything. And he says that he is filing (another) lawsuit against the press for doing their job and conducting accurate polls. #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2026-01-22T18:12:40.334Z

Trump won’t be happy until he has banished every one of his critics from all media. He’s following the playbook of his heroes and mentors, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un. But he isn’t going to get away with it. In America we have the Constitution on our side. And as long as the millions of patriots who cherish freedom stay strong and rise up to quash Trump and his censorious comrades, he will fail again and again and again.

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Crybaby Trump Whines that ‘NBC Should Fire’ Seth Meyers, and Worse, His Flunky FCC Chief Agrees

Posted by Mark NC on November 16, 2025 at 11:59 am. 1 Comments :

Throughout his occupation of the White House, Donald Trump has impressively proven his steadfast dependability on staying focused on issues that have little to no relevance to the American people. He’s a walking exhibition of the single-minded persistence of a mule suffering from OCD.

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Among the issues that have dominated Trump’s cartoon brain are his lies about his electoral loss in 2020, his obsession with persecuting his political foes, his inbred hatred of immigrants, his suppression of the free press, his shuttering agencies that provide benefits to the needy, and his determination to enrich himself and cling to power.

SEE THIS: Trump Slobbers Over Hungarian Dictator Viktor Orbán, Whose Unchecked Power He Envies and Craves

Another one of Trump’s fanatical fetishes is his aversion to being mocked by comedians. His tender feelings are so sensitive that he becomes apoplectic whenever he is the butt of even a mild joke. And that sensitivity was on display in a comment that he posted to his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, on Saturday night. Reacting to a segment from Friday’s episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Trump seethed that…

“NBC’s Seth Meyers is suffering from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). 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!”

Widdle Donnie Trump is a fragile flower who can't take a joke. Because he IS a joke.So he whines that "NBC should fire" Seth Meyers. And his FCC flunky, Brenden Carr, obediently parrots his censorious demand.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-11-16T11:19:38.071Z

There’s a steaming pile of derp to unpack in that outburst. Let’s start with the fact that Meyers’ show is not “a Ratings DISASTER.” NBC reported its season-to-date average for Meyers at about 1.031 million viewers. Which is pretty good for a post-midnight program. And NBC recently renewed his contract, which drew a threat from Trump. What’s more, at no point was Meyers “in an uncontrollable rage.” Rather, he was calmly delivering his material as usual. See for yourself…

However, perhaps the most troubling thing about Trump’s latest humorsexual harassment is that it was quickly taken up by his chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, who retweeted Trump’s harangue. Carr is notorious for adopting Trump’s hatred for the media, and particularly comedians. He reveled in the brief suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. And he implied on Fox News that he and Trump played a role in the cancelation of Stephen Colbert’s show.

MORE HERE: Did Trump Arrange to Get Stephen Colbert Fired? That’s What His FCC Chair Implied to Fox News

Trump’s hatred and fear of Meyers, Colbert, and Kimmel is shared by his BFF in Moscow, Vladimir Putin, whose government has banned all three of them from Russia. And if Trump has his way, they will suffer the same fate in the U.S.

Which is where Carr comes in. He has the power to threaten the local affiliates of the network with revocation of their broadcast licenses and disapproval of business ventures. Currently NBC’s parent company, Comcast, is exploring a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. For which they would need the approval of the Trump administration.

Trump isn’t bothering to hide his authoritarian aspirations. He is chomping at the bit to deep six anyone who dares to criticize him, whether they be members of Congress, journalists, or comedians. And his contempt for Meyers has deep roots. Meyers’ delivered a withering monologue at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011. And it is a certainty that Trump has not forgotten it…

MORE REASONS WHY TRUMP HATES SETH MEYERS:

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Trump’s FCC Chair Says that CBS News Will Have to Employ a ‘Bias Monitor’ to Police Their Reporting

Posted by Mark NC on July 26, 2025 at 1:38 pm. NO Comments :

Just in case there still people who are not convinced that Donald Trump is plotting to replace America’s democracy with a totalitarian dictatorship, he has dispatched his chairman of the FCC (Fascist Communications Commission) to Newsmax to announce his latest anti-free-press initiative.

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FCC chair, Brendan Carr, has been making the media rounds this week to rollout the Trump agenda to clampdown on any journalistic enterprise that thinks it has the freedom to criticize Dear Leader Trump or his MAGA movement. Last week Carr bragged to Fox News that Trump had defunded PBS and NPR. And he told them that Trump was responsible for the cancelation of “Late Night with Stephen Colbert” because Trump is “not gonna play by the rules of politicians in the past and let these legacy outfits dictate the narrative and the terms of the debate.” Of course not. Dictating the narrative is a privilege reserved for Trump and his confederates.

SEE THIS: Did Trump Arrange to Get Stephen Colbert Fired? That’s What His FCC Chair Implied to Fox News

Not satisfied with those assaults on the free press, Carr also visited with Newsmax to announce a unique provision that was snuck into the FCC’s approval of the merger between Paramount (the owner of CBS) and Skydance Media. Carr sat for a friendly chat with Newsmax host Greg Kelly that included the following exchange…

Kelly: We heard a little about what they’re gonna have to do on 60 Minutes. Is there anything beyond that you can tell us about what they’re gonna do differently, fact-based? You know, that’s kind of a cultural shock to them.
Carr: Yeah, it might be news to some folks over there. One of the things they’re going to have to do is put an ombudsman in place for two years. So basically a “bias monitor” that will report directly to the president. So that’s something that’s significant that we’re going to see happening as well to broadcasters.”

Trump's FCC Chair says he will put a "bias monitor" in place who will "report directly" to Trump as part of the deal for Sky Dance to acquire CBS

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2025-07-25T16:08:59.336Z

HOLY CRAP! This is unprecedented. Carr is revealing that the government is exerting its full force to demand that a news network hire a censorship czar to police the content of CBS’s reporting, as well as that of other broadcasters. But not to worry, we can rest assured that he will execute his role as Bias Judge with the utmost neutrality, right? And he will also mandate bias monitors for Newsmax and Fox News, right? RIGHT?

[UPDATE: This story was corrected to note that the “bias monitor” would not be reporting to the president of the United States as originally stated. Carr’s remarks on Newsmax were not clear, but Talking Points Memo reviewed the text of the agreement which they report refers to the president of Paramount]

This brazenly autocratic conduct is not new for the Trump regime, or for Carr specifically. He recently told CNBC that “the media industry across this country needs a course correction.” And he believes that it is the proper role of government to impose that correction and determine the course. It’s a political philosophy that he and Trump acquired from their heroes, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

CNBC: Colbert is a comedian. You keep talking about journalism and fairness in news, but we all remember Carson and Jay Leno giving Reagan the business. Where does that fit in?FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR: Frankly, the media industry across this country needs a course correction

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-07-25T15:05:29.181Z

The goal of these initiatives is to reshape the media into a Trump-fluffing platform of pure propaganda. If they get their way, all voices of dissent will be muzzled, and those who engage in it will be sent to gulags in El Salvador, or worse. Some in the media have already capitulated to Trump. Which makes it all the more imperative that every American speaks out and supports independent media and free speech. If we don’t do it now, we may not be able to do it at all.

UPDATE: Trump has weighed in on this with an inane comment posted on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social calling for the licenses of news networks to be revoked if he thinks they are too nice to Democrats and/or too mean to him…

“Networks aren’t allowed to be political pawns for the Democrat Party. It has become so outrageous that, in my opinion, their licenses could, and should, be revoked! MAGA”

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Did Trump Arrange to Get Stephen Colbert Fired? That’s What His FCC Chair Implied to Fox News

Posted by Mark NC on July 24, 2025 at 3:57 pm. NO Comments :

The history of broken democracies that descend into totalitarianism almost always begins with an aspiring dictator who lashes out at the media and seeks to muzzle any criticism from a free press that resists being censored. The honest journalists and others with the courage to speak truth to power are systematically identified and silenced.

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That strategy can currently be seen playing out by Donald Trump and his neo-fascist MAGA movement. It began years ago with his frequent reference to the media in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people,” and continues with his recent attacks on news organizations with multibillion dollar lawsuits and threats of regulatory punishment should they defy his divine will.

SUCH AS: Paramount Caves to Trump’s Extortion, Disgraces CBS, Pays a $16M Bribe to Settle a Bogus Lawsuit

Last week Stephen Colbert announced that his corporate bosses at Paramount had told him that his contract would not be renewed beyond this season that ends in May of 2026. Paramount is currently trying to complete a merger with Skydance Media that needs the approval of the Trump administration, The cancellation came as a shock to Colbert and his audience, considering that his program has been the number one rated show in its time slot for many years. And it came just two days after Colbert castigated Paramount for capitulating to Trump and agreeing to pay what Colbert called “a big fat bribe” in order to settle an entirely meritless lawsuit filed by the Litigator-in-Chief. What else did Paramount/Skydance promise Trump to secure his approval for their merger?

One person who was not shocked was Donald Trump, who rejoiced over the news, and looked forward to more of the same sort of government suppression for Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and others who dare to laugh at Trump. Which may have prompted Fox News host, Bill Hemmer, to engage with Trump’s Federal Communications (FCC) chair, Brendan Carr, about Trump’s possible role in the ousting of Colbert. Hemmer asked Carr, “Did Trump have anything to do with the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show?” And Carr gave a long-winded dodge that still managed to give Trump credit for axing the decades long, awarding winning program. Carr replied…

“Well here’s what’s important to keep in mind as a broader dynamic. When president Trump ran for reelection he ran right at the legacy broadcast media outfits and the New York and Hollywood elites that are behind it. And he smashed the facade that these are gatekeepers that can control what Americans think and what Americans can say. And once you do do that, you’ve exposed the business model of a lot of these outfits as being nothing more than a partisan circus.

That entire rant was pure, nonsensical, bullshittery. First of all, Trump may have campaigned against the media, but he won with one of the smallest margins in modern history. So he had no mandate to crush what he believed was a “partisan circus.” What’s more, neither Colbert, nor any of his colleagues, had any power as “gatekeepers” who could control what anyone thinks or says. If the American people didn’t like what they were seeing, they could always change the channel or go to bed. Instead, millions tuned in every night.

However, Carr wasn’t finished gaslighting the Fox News viewers. He eventually got around to answering the original question about whether Trump deserved credit for ridding television of Colbert. And Carr implied that he did…

“So there’s a lot of consequences that are flowing from Trump deciding ‘I’m not gonna play by the rules of politicians in the past and let these legacy outfits dictate the narrative and the terms of the debate.’ And he’s succeeding. Just look at what’s happening. NPR has been defunded. PBS has been defunded. Colbert is getting canceled. You’ve got anchors and news media personalities losing jobs. All of the is downstream of president Trump’s decision to stand up. And he stood up for the American people. Because the American people do not trust these legacy gatekeepers anymore.”

FOX: Did President Trump have anything to do with the cancelation of Colbert's show?FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR: When President Trump ran for election, he ran right at these legacy broadcast media outfitsFOX: I did not hear an answer

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-07-24T14:04:39.172Z

So according to Carr, Colbert’s firing was the result of “consequences” that flowed from Trump who wasn’t “gonna play by the rules” of the past, wherein viewers decided what they wanted to watch. He boasted that Trump was succeeding by defunding beloved institutions like NPR and PBS, and causing journalists to lose their jobs. Once again, giving the credit to Trump. Furthermore, Carr made the preposterous statement that all of this anti-free-press turmoil, was because Trump “stood up for the American people.”

MORE HERE: Trump Threatens Republicans Who Fail to Defund the ‘Monstrosity’ Public Broadcasters, PBS and NPR

Apparently Carr thinks that the nation was clamoring to get rid of such subversive fair as the PBS News Hour, All Things Considered, Masterpiece Theater, and Sesame Street. Even Fox’s host was less than satisfied with Carr’s respopnse, saying that “I asked you a very direct question. I did not hear a yes or a no in your answer. I heard ‘maybe.'” Although Carr did hint at his view that Trump was responsible for Colbert being cancelled. He just took the long way around to delivering a weaselly reply. Which is a skill that many in Trump World have had to master.

The bottom line here is that Trump is determined to cleanse the media of anyone who refuses to worship and obey him. And the supplicants in his administration will see to it that Trump’s will is done by any means necessary. And that’s true for his political agencies as well. Because that’s how authoritarianism works. And that’s what Trump wants. He must not be allowed to succeed.

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Ted Cruz, Attacking FCC Nominee, Unwittingly Makes a Damn Good Argument Against Donald Trump

Posted by Mark NC on February 14, 2023 at 2:08 pm. 3 Comments :

The state of Texas has been suffering from extraordinarily poor representation by their junior senator, Ted Cruz, for many years. He has distinguished himself as the most hated man in the Senate, and excelled only at scoring airtime on Fox News and humiliating himself and his state.

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On Tuesday the Senate Commerce Committee held a confirmation hearing for Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission. Sohn’s nomination has been held up by Republicans for two years, despite having outstanding credentials and support from a broad and bipartisan array of industry and citizen constituents. So naturally Cruz is expressing his customary knee-jerk opposition to whatever any Democrat proposes or is associated with.

During his time to question Sohn, Cruz unleashed an extended rant slandering her with flagrant falsehoods. He enumerated all of the things about Sohn that he regarded as disqualifying. It was a list of utterly fictional grievances. However, his complaints actually applied more closely to Donald Trump than to Sohn.

Cruz began by objecting to Sohn having been associated with “far left organizations.” They were actually fairly mainstream organizations, but Cruz, and all Republicans, accuse every liberal organization of being far left socialist commies. And of course, Cruz has no problem with all of the radical right organizations that Trump is beholden to. He then elaborated in a stream of petulant whining (video below)…

“[Sohn] retweeted and liked posts by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling for defunding the police.”

Cruz didn’t provide any examples of the tweets that offended him. But if liking allegedly offensive tweets is disqualifying, he should address Trump’s embrace of truly heinous postings by QAnon and other fascist, racist, hate mongers.

“And, in July 2020, during riots in Portland, Oregon, she retweeted a post attacking federal law enforcement officers as armed goons in riot gear with tear gas. It’s no surprise that her nomination is opposed by multiple law enforcement groups, including the Fraternal Order of Police and National Sheriffs Association.”

Again, there was no evidence of offending tweets. But attacking law enforcement is one of Trump’s favorite pastimes. Just this morning he referred to the FBI as the “Gesatpo.”

“Ms. Sohn portrays herself as a defender of free speech but has a history of campaigning to censor conservatives.”

Sohn has never campaigned to censor conservatives. But Trump has literally called for the termination of the Constitution and repeatedly maligned the press as “the enemy of the people.”

“[Sohn] calls Fox News ‘dangerous to our democracy’ and has urged the FCC to revoke Sinclair’s broadcast licenses.”

Ok, let’s give him this much. Sohn is correct about Fox News. However, Cruz is lying about her urging revocation of Sinclair’s licenses. Although she did suggest that a hearing should be held to ascertain whether Sinclair should be punished beyond the $48 million fine they received for lying to the FCC. Trump, on the other hand, regards all of the media (except those that worship him) as dangerous and hopes that most of them go out of business.

“At the same time, she has a history of fighting against indecency regulations that protect children from exposure to filth on TV. To Ms. Sohn, it seems conservative speech is worse than obscenity.”

Often what Cruz regards as “filth” is just anything that he disagrees with, including lifestyles of LGBTQ persons or non-Christians. And To Trump liberal speech is an apocalyptic-level abomination.

So every point that Cruz made fit Trump better than it did Sohn. Consequently, if we accept his arguments, then Trump should be disqualified from public service. That, of course, is a given for so many other reasons: inciting an insurrection, undermining democracy, pathological lying, hoarding hundreds of classified documents, promoting racism, embracing dictators. The list goes on and on.

Cruz: She calls Fox News dangerous to our democracy.. pic.twitter.com/TEqe0IePQT

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 14, 2023

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Sinclair State-TV Chairman to Trump: ‘We Are Here to Deliver Your Message’

Posted by Mark NC on April 10, 2018 at 2:04 pm. 1 Comments :

As the walls close in on Donald Trump and his crime syndicate associates, the conservative propaganda networks are furiously trying to twist the facts into an unrecognizable perversion of reality. Fox News is at the top of the list of Trump-fluffing sycophants with hosts and contributors who relentlessly defend the President and smear his critics.

However, Fox News is not alone on that battlefront. Sinclair Broadcasting is moving at breakneck speed to offer an alternative to Fox that is even more extreme and irresponsibly dishonest. With their “must run” segments featuring former Trump shill Boris Epshteyn, and their mandatory corporate written screeds against “fake” news, Sinclair poses a serious risk to journalism and democracy.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Sinclair’s chairman, David Smith, made a deal with Trump to provide him positive coverage if he granted them greater access. They were blatantly selling their integrity to get closer to Trump. Now the Guardian is reporting that Smith was even more servile when he secretly met with Trump at the White House. The Guardian discloses that:

“The chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group met Donald Trump at the White House during a visit to pitch a potentially lucrative new product to administration officials, the Guardian has learned.

“David D Smith, whose company has been criticised for making its anchors read a script echoing Trump’s attacks on the media, said he briefed officials last year on a system that would enable authorities to broadcast direct to any American’s phone.

“‘I just wanted them to be aware of the technology,” Smith said in an interview. He also recalled an earlier meeting with Trump during the 2016 election campaign, where he told the future president: ‘We are here to deliver your message.'”

Oh really? Promising to be there to deliver a president’s message is not the mission of a legitimate news enterprise. To the contrary, it’s the mission of journalistic lackeys with a political agenda who are brazenly and unabashedly biased. And everything that Sinclair does affirms that it is serving as a mouthpiece for Trump and the Republican Party.

The Guardian also asked Smith about the rightward leanings of his operation, which he forthrightly denied. He called assertions that the scripts he forced his anchors to read were biased in favor of Trump “the most absurd thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” That’s like Hannibal Lecter feigning offense that anyone might suggest he eats people. But his justification for that denial just made matters even worse. He said that:

“If people believe you more than they believe somebody else, they’re more likely to watch you,” he said. “And you know what that means? We might get a higher rating. And you know what that means? We will therefore make our spots worth more. And you know what that means? That means I will make more money, which means I can pay you more money.”

In summary, he’s saying that it’s his policy to convince viewers that all other sources of news are false. And the purpose of that slander is to discredit the press at large in order to get more viewers for Sinclair. That’s different than competing news organizations touting their skills and experience to appeal to their audience. It is a cult-like scheme to convince gullible people that only one truth exists and that Sinclair owns it. And it dovetails perfectly with Trump’s cultist tendencies that aim to achieve the same blind loyalty.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Sinclair is currently trying to expand their reach by buying their largest competitor, Tribune Media. Trump’s Federal Communications Commission is likely to approve the acquisition, despite its breach of existing regulations. The American people need to join together to preserve the integrity of our free press. And one way to do that is to visit Stop Sinclair and lobby Congress to intervene to oppose this dangerous, anti-consumer merger.

Campaign Ally Says Donald Trump Should “Turn Off” CNN’s FCC License (Which They Can’t Do)

Posted by Mark NC on May 17, 2016 at 6:51 pm. 9 Comments :

Advancing the already stridently fascist policy platform of Donald Trump’s candidacy, one of his closest friends and political allies is now recommending that Trump put his boot down on the free press should he become president.

Notorious dirty trickster, Roger Stone, has made a name for himself pushing ludicrous conspiracy theories and offensive smear campaigns. He is a veteran Clinton-hater who once started a group he called “Citizens United Not Timid,” or C.U.N.T. On the basis of that he later became a Fox News Contributor. (Media Matters has compiled a useful guide to his antics).

Yesterday, in an interview with Brietbart News, Stone floated more of his trademark trash in the form of advice for his buddy Donald Trump. In the midst of a tirade against CNN, which he said “is not a news organization, but an advocacy group,” he complained that at CNN “they turn you off” if you try to talk about the women in Bill Clinton’s past. But he has a solution to that problem:

“Frankly, when Donald Trump is president he should turn off their FCC license. They’re not a news organization. They’re about censorship.”

There is so much wrong with that statement that it’s hard to know where to begin. Let’s start with the fact that he could have been talking about Fox News and it would have been more accurate. But the larger issue is that advocating that the government take a roll in deciding which news enterprises should be permitted to operate is not only a violation of the Constitution, but an overtly oppressive tactic generally favored by tyrants. On that measure, it’s easy to see why Trump might be on board.

Trump has previously espoused similar nonsense. In February he threatened the New York Times, and other media outlets he assumes are biased against him, with lawsuits and the prospect of “open[ing] up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.” And notwithstanding the fact that he can do that now if he actually had a case, he warned that these publishers would “have problems” if he is elected.

Another problem with Stone’s suggestion to de-license CNN is more pragmatic: It’s impossible. The FCC’s authority to regulate licensing is restricted to broadcast media (radio and TV) and they cannot revoke a cable news channel’s license because they don’t issue them. Broadcasters operate over the public airwaves, while cable channels are transmitted on privately owned cable facilities. So Stone’s counsel is not only unconstitutional, it demonstrates his utter ignorance of the subject matter.

Stone has a history of flagrantly offensive remarks that have insulted women and African-Americans. His racist and misogynist tendencies are often expressed openly. As a result he has been banned from both CNN and MSNBC. At Fox News they canceled a few of his recent appearances but have not formally banned him and he has not appeared in several weeks. That may be why he is resorting to fringe platforms like Breitbart to put out his repugnant message. Breitbart has all but officially endorsed Trump and there are credible allegations that Trump paid Breitbart for favorable treatment.

In closing the interview, Stone got to the point of his remarks with a shamelessly self-serving plug. He recommended that listeners get the “truth” by reading the book “The Clintons’ War On Women,” by Roger Stone. It’s a book that has been roundly rebuked by liberals and conservatives alike as being poorly written and sourced. But one thing it has going for it is that Donald Trump has made it his anti-Clinton bible. The diatribes Trump is currently spewing about Clinton’s past are all straight out of this book.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Listen to Stone’s interview via Media Matters:

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