Dem
47
GOP
53
Of course, the fascist playbook is not limited to the chapter on "pacifying" undesirable citizens. It's also important to silence critical media, so that the people only receive their RightThink from state-approved (and, eventually, state-run) apparatuses.
In the past few days, Trump has renewed his war against CBS/Viacom and, more specifically, against 60 Minutes. He is now calling, openly and frequently, for CBS to lose its broadcast license. So, what bug does he currently have up his a**? We'll let him explain in his own words, from his much-less-influential-than-60-Minutes boutique social media site. Perhaps you speak "stark raving loony" more fluently than we do:
Almost every week, 60 Minutes, which is being sued for Billions of Dollars for the fraud they committed in the 2024 Presidential Election with their Interview of Failed Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, mentions the name "TRUMP" in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend's "BROADCAST" tops them all. They did not one, but TWO, major stories on "TRUMP," one having to do with Ukraine, which I say is a War that would never have happened if the 2020 Election had not been RIGGED, in other words, if I were President and, the other story was having to do with Greenland, casting our Country, as led by me, falsely, inaccurately, and fraudulently. I am so honored to be suing 60 Minutes, CBS Fake News, and Paramount, over their fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting. They did everything possible to illegally elect Kamala, including completely and corruptly changing major answers to Interview questions, but it just didn't work for them. They are not a "News Show," but a dishonest Political Operative simply disguised as "News," and must be responsible for what they have done, and are doing. They should lose their license! Hopefully, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as headed by its Highly Respected Chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior. CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
It's not entirely clear from Trump's rant, but this weekend's episode of 60 Minutes had a segment with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which he said "Russian narratives are prevailing in the U.S.," which The Donald apparently took as a personal slight. And the show also had a segment in which Greenlanders were interviewed and said they do not want to be taken over by the U.S., and don't like Trump treating them like their homeland is "a toy... or something." That was another personal slight, it would seem. Of course, Trump's suggestion that CBS lose its broadcast license is on top of the multi-billion-dollar lawsuit he's filed against them because they did an interview with Kamala Harris that he didn't like.
You never know, with Trump, what notions he is seriously entertaining, and what notions are just hot air. However, if he's serious, he has rather less leverage here than he thinks. If the FCC tried to yank CBS' license, that would end up in court, and CBS would certainly win. And even if they didn't win, the broadcast license only covers the use of public airwaves. In other words, CBS would lose, as customers, people getting the network via antenna. Of course, the vast majority of their viewers these days are reached via cable or via the Paramount Plus App. That has nothing to do with their broadcast license. On top of that, CBS has the Sunday AFC package (basically, NFL games played in AFC stadiums on Sundays). How do you think the people who were cut off from their Steelers games or their Chiefs games would feel when they learned it was Trump's doing?
Trump also thinks he can muck around in the planned Paramount-Skydance merger. Here, there are two problems. First, as with the broadcast license, it would end up in court. Second, the key figure driving the merger is Skydance CEO David Ellison. He's the son of Larry Ellison, who is a major Trump supporter and donor. Larry might have a few thoughts if he thinks his son is being screwed over by the administration.
Where Trump has more power, at least for now, is in controlling access to the White House. And the Associated Press reports that, despite a ruling from a far-right MAGA judge that the AP's access could not be blocked while other outlets were being admitted, the administration is still blocking them.
We don't know what the point of this is, beyond making the point that both the media and the federal judiciary must bow to the President. However, this could be another case where the administration isn't thinking things through very well. The more that the administration makes clear that court decisions are "optional," the more likely it is that people outside the administration will start to decide that court decisions are "optional" for them, too. That includes the court decisions that the White House likes. We're not there yet, but people generally won't abide by "one set of rules for thee, another set for me" for very long. (Z)