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Welcome to record: The Trump administration tends to attack free speech after forcing ABC to evacuate late-night host Jimmy Kimmel from the air.
what happened? Kimmel was suspended by the ABC on Wednesday after comments from President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr.
“We can do this in an easy way or in a difficult way. Frankly, these companies can find ways to change behavior and act, or there is other work ahead of the FCC,” Carl said in a podcast appearance on Wednesday.
Two major broadcasters then announced their intention to pull Kimmel away from the local radio station. Nexstar is one of them and requires FCC approval to proceed Waiting for merger.
What did Kimmel say? On the surface, Kimmel’s suspension is arguably misleading but relatively dynamic Comment He passed away earlier this week. However, on Thursday, Trump gave the game, Tell reporters That’s “when you have the network and you have evening shows, all they do is hit Trump… they don’t allow it.”
Why is this important? Under the First Amendment, the government cannot curb speech, whether it may not agree with it. Kimmel’s suspension does not require any specific action from the FCC, but it is clearly in response to Carl’s comments.
Carl also said Thursday: “I don’t think this is the last pair of shoes that fell…the consequences will continue to flow.”
What is the overall situation? As my colleague Zack Beauchamp wrotethis is Trump’s most brutal attack on freedom of speech, and it is also a familiar authoritarian script. Trump still has a long way to go before he reaches media control levels such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, but the speed at which he was able to pause Kimmel was a sign of concern.
So, it’s time to log out…
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