Donald Trump’s call for CBS’s broadcast license to be revoked has quickly drawn a rebuke from the chair of the Federal Communications Commission.
“While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former President may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored. As I’ve said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage,” said Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement on Thursday.
Trump has been complaining all week about Vice President Kamala Harris’s interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes Sunday. On Thursday, he escalated his attacks, calling for the network’s broadcast license to be revoked and for Harris to drop out of the presidential race because of an edited teaser clip used by the network.
“TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE. Election Interference. She is a Moron, and the Fake News Media wants to hide that fact. An UNPRECEDENTED SCANDAL!!! The Dems got them to do this and should be forced to concede the Election? WOW!” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday morning, and then repeated the demand in remarks to the Detroit Economic Club later in the day.
The former president and convicted felon bucked a 56-year tradition by backing out of an interview with 60 Minutes, with his campaign giving conflicting excuses, including that he didn’t want to be fact-checked. The show exposed each and every one of those excuses on Sunday, giving him a brutal fact-check anyway.
Trump has long complained about news networks that slight him. After his presidential debate with Harris on ABC last month, he complained that it was rigged and called for that network’s broadcast license to be revoked. It’s pretty clear that Trump is trying not only to undermine critical coverage of himself but to intimidate news networks into giving him positive coverage. In his view, all media outlets should fawn over him like Fox News, even to the point of giving him favorable edits.
