‘Trump Is Winning’: FCC Chair Boasts He’s Remaking the Media by Pushing Out Left-Leaning Figures
During a Friday CPAC appearance, FCC Chair Brendan Carr bragged that he’s remaking the media by pushing out left-leaning figures, declaring, “[President Donald] Trump is winning.”
“When he ran for office, he ran directly at the fake news media,” said Carr. “He said, ‘You don’t get to decide what we say, what we think, how we’re gonna vote inside the voting booth.’ President Trump took on the fake news media, and President Trump is winning.”
“Look at the results so far,” he continued. “PBS — defunded. NPR — defunded. Joy Reid — gone from MSNBC. Sleepy-eyed Chuck Todd — gone. Jim Acosta — gone. John Dickerson — gone.”
“[Stephen] Colbert is leaving,” Carr continued. “CBS is under new ownership, and soon enough, CNN is gonna have new ownership as well.” After this list, cheers could be heard from the audience.
“So, we’re not at the point yet where we’re raising the ‘mission accomplished’ flag, but President Trump is taking on the fake news media, and President Trump is winning,” he concluded.
PBS and NPR have indeed been hit by the loss of federal funding, a longtime conservative goal. Reid’s departure from MSNBC (now MS-NOW) came as part of the network’s programming overhaul, while Todd left NBC News after a long run at the network. Acosta exited CNN amid a broader reshuffling under network chief Mark Thompson, and Dickerson’s departure came during wider cuts and restructuring at CBS News. Colbert is set to host his last show at the end of May.
As for Carr’s ownership comments, referring to the pending media consolidation now looming over the industry, CBS is part of Paramount Global, while David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has signed a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery — CNN’s parent company. If completed, the deal would put both networks under the same corporate umbrella.
Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.
New: The Mediaite One-Sheet “Newsletter of Newsletters”
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!
Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press
Whether it’s the Des Moines Register’s publication of an unfavorable election poll, a routine edit of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, or the Associated Press’s decision in its authoritative stylebook to continue to use “Gulf of Mexico,” Donald Trump and the White House have used executive authority and legal reprisals in an effort to punish and suppress press coverage that runs contrary to the administration’s preferred narratives.
Democracy and politics | Signalgate | The CBS submission | Voiceless America
Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics
News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.
Related Knowledge Center: Media and the law
Toxic politics and vast shifts in the technology landscape have created a plethora of thorny issues — both legal and ethical — for newsrooms, courts, and regulators.
The Meta-FTC trial | Section 230