The Mouse Bites Back
For the better part of two years, American media companies have responded to Donald Trump’s authoritarian pressure campaign with an embarrassing mix of capitulation and appeasement. On Friday, one of them finally decided to fight back.
Disney filed a blistering legal brief with the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of violating ABC’s First Amendment rights by attempting to punish political content it didn’t like. The filing—signed by Paul Clement, a prolific Supreme Court litigator and solicitor general under President George W. Bush—accused FCC Chairman Brendan Carr of deploying a “chilling effect” on free speech, targeting shows critical of the president while leaving pro-Trump radio hosts like Glenn Beck and Mark Levin entirely untouched. It called the agency’s demands “unprecedented” and “beyond the commission’s authority.”
Disney also quoted then-D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s 2017 opinion that the government may not “tell Amazon or Politics & Prose what books to promote; or tell The Washington Post or the Drudge Report what columns to carry; or tell ESPN or the NFL Network what games to show; or tell How Appealing or Bench Memos what articles to feature; or tell Twitter or YouTube what videos to post; or tell Facebook or Google what content to favor.”
The forceful response marks a stark reversal for the Josh D’Amaro-led entertainment giant, which paid Trump $16 million to settle his defamation suit against ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos—a case most legal experts considered a loser for the president—and what many saw as Burbank’s attempt to buy peace. Last year, after Carr threatened ABC’s broadcast licenses over comments made by Jimmy Kimmel, Disney yanked its biggest star off the air for several nights, prompting backlash from viewers and renewed accusations that the company was caving to political intimidation. Now, even as Trump and the first lady publicly demand Kimmel’s firing, ABC has kept its late-night host on the air and he continues to mock the president nightly.
At the center of the FCC case is “The View,” the daytime talk show targeted by Trump that Carr has sought to strip of the FCC’s longstanding news exemption from equal-time requirements. The program was granted “bona fide” news status in 2002—a designation that allowed it to feature political figures and commentary without triggering equal-time obligations—and Trump himself appeared on the show roughly 18 times before becoming president.
Of course, few corporations in America have worked harder to stay out of politics than the House of Mouse. The sprawling conglomerate’s entire business model is built on being beloved by everyone—Republicans, Democrats, grandparents, and grandchildren alike. But Trump has made it virtually impossible for Disney—or anyone else—to remain apolitical. Disney is merely one of many media companies to find itself in the crosshairs of the thin-skinned president, whose campaign of intimidation and grievance has shown no end.
Floyd Abrams, perhaps the most prominent First Amendment attorney in the country, told Status that while the law governing the FCC’s supervisory role over broadcasters has not always been clear, “its plainly politically rooted assault on Disney seems so clearly politically rooted that First Amendment protections should bar the FCC from second-guessing ABC about who to put on the air.”
Press freedom groups also rallied to Disney’s side in the dispute. Free Press co-chief executive Jessica J. González said in a statement she was “pleased that ABC has finally learned that bullies don’t stop when companies cower in a corner. The FCC chairman has blatantly and repeatedly abused his power to silence speech that displeases Trump.”
And Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the FCC, applauded the company for standing its ground. “The days of the FCC as a paper tiger are numbered,” she said. “What the public will remember is who complied in advance and who fought back. I’m glad Disney is choosing courage over capitulation.”
That appears to be the lesson Disney has learned. After years of media companies trying to mollify Trump and his allies, it has recognized that appeasement offers no real protection. And the strategy may already be working. Disney’s forceful filing drew a notably flaccid reply from Carr’s FCC on Friday. In a statement, an agency spokesperson said the commission “will review Disney’s assertion that ‘The View’ is a ‘bona fide news program’ and thus exempt from the political equal time rules”—a far more restrained posture than the aggressive rhetoric previously directed at the company.
After all, Trump’s endless pressure campaign relies largely on convincing powerful institutions to surrender preemptively. Disney’s decision to sharply push back suggests at least some media companies are beginning to conclude that the correct course is to fight rather than fold.