If you’re wondering where we are in Donald Trump’s authoritarian playbook, we have reached government censorship of speech.
Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air after his talk show was suspended in one of the gravest attacks on free speech rights in generations. Brendan Carr is now saying he never threatened networks with the wrath of the FCC — but Trump doubled down on his pressure campaign in an unhinged rant.
“Last time I went after [ABC], they gave me $16 Million Dollars,” Trump wrote. “This one sounds even more lucrative.”
To be clear, the president of the United States is directly targeting critics of his administration. After learning Colbert’s show had been canceled, Trump warned that Kimmel would be “next.” When Kimmel was abruptly yanked from the air, the president identified Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon as his next targets. “Do it NBC!!!” Trump urged.
And it’s not just late night hosts who find themselves the subject of Trump’s ire. Trump filed a $15 billion dollar defamation lawsuit against the New York Times over reporting he didn’t like. A Florida federal judge tossed the lawsuit, but gave Trump 28 days to file an amended complaint. The Pentagon is requiring journalists to sign a pledge before reporting even unclassified information. Trump has personally targeted journalists with whom he disagrees, telling ABC’s Jonathan Karl that AG Pam Bondi “would probably go after people like you, because you treat me so unfairly.”
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