Fascist Takeover Reaches Fever Pitch:
President Trump said on Thursday that regulators should consider revoking the licenses of broadcasters that air negative coverage or commentary of him, indicating that his assault on critics’ language is motivated at least in part by personal animus.
The comments were a remarkable escalation in a coordinated attack by Mr. Trump and his top aides, who are using the threat of the power of the American government to silence criticism or dissent following the assassination of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
In the last week, White House has moved to target the tax status of liberal groups, monitor online speech, deny visas and threaten to designate certain groups as domestic terrorists. The administration has argued such measures are necessary to crack down on hate speech that could incite violence, even as Democrats and others warn that it amounts to a crackdown on opposing views.
On Wednesday, ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s show “indefinitely” after pressure from the Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, over the late-night host’s comments about Mr. Kirk.
Mr. Trump on Thursday indicated that Mr. Carr should go even further and scrutinize the broadcast licenses of local television stations that run programming from the major networks, suggesting that both their news coverage and late-night comedy shows were unfairly tilted against him. “They give me only bad publicity,” he said.
“It will be up to Brendan Carr,” the president said, calling him “a patriot” and “a tough guy.”
Of course, Trump has used media merger-mania to his advantage, making approvals contingent on self-censorship:
Much like fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert, the circumstances surrounding Jimmy Kimmel’s removal from the airwaves involve a company in the midst of a merger and under scrutiny from the FCC.
Nexstar Media Group is in the middle of a $6.2 billion merger with media company Tegna. Nexstar, which owns or partners with more than 200 television stations, would acquire about 65 more under the deal. The two companies entered into a definitive agreement for the merger last month, but it remains subject to regulatory approval from the FCC, currently chaired by Brendan Carr.
On Wednesday, Nexstar condemned “recent comments” made by Kimmel and announced that JKL would be pre-empted on its stations “for the foreseeable future.”
A corporate merger awaiting FCC approval also sat at the center of CBS’s unexpected cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert just two months ago to the day.
While CBS called that decision a “purely financial” one made “against a challenging backdrop in late night,” the network has been widely accused—by civilians and politicians alike—of cutting the show to curry favor with President Donald Trump amid the pending merger of its parent company Paramount with Skydance Media. Skydance founder and CEO David Ellison is often seen as a close ally of Trump. At the time, the Paramount-Skydance deal also required approval from Carr’s FCC. Carr, like Ellison, has been an oft-cited Trump ally. Days before his cancellation, Colbert had called CBS’s settlement with Trump in its 60 Minutes lawsuit “a big fat bribe.”
Carr’s FCC approved the Paramount-Skydance merger the following month.
Cause, meet effect.
And Then There’s TikTok. Delaware’s Dan Pfeiffer outlines the tik-ing time bomb:
Earlier this week, Donald Trump once again suspended enforcement of the TikTok ban. It’s easy to forget, but in 2024, Congress—in a rare bipartisan action—voted to ban TikTok in the United States. President Biden signed the ban into law. The legislation required TikTok to be sold to a non-Chinese entity or removed from app stores. Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement while searching for a U.S. buyer.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. government is on the cusp of a deal that would give American investors majority control of TikTok. The agreement, expected as part of broader trade negotiations with China, reportedly looks like this:
- TikTok’s U.S. business would be controlled by a consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz.
- A new U.S. entity would operate the app, with American investors holding about 80% of the stake.
- The company’s board would be dominated by Americans, with one seat designated by the U.S. government.
Silver Lake is a Silicon Valley private equity firm. Oracle is the tech giant run by Larry Ellison—one of the richest men in the world and a major Trump supporter. Andreessen Horowitz is a massive venture capital firm led by Marc Andreessen, another vocal Trump ally.
If this deal closes, the fastest-growing social media platform—and a primary news source for younger Americans—will fall under the control of Trump’s allies.
You may think this sounds paranoid. But whoever controls an algorithm-driven social media platform wields immense influence. The original TikTok ban was driven by fears that the Chinese government was manipulating the algorithm to shape American opinion before the election. Now, that same powerful algorithm could be in the hands of people financially and politically incentivized to root for Trump and the MAGA movement.
What’s happened at Twitter/X under Elon Musk is a clear warning. Since taking over, Musk has tilted the platform hard to the right. The algorithm now amplifies MAGA voices and sidelines traditional news sources. It’s simple: Elon supports Trump, Elon owns X, and X promotes pro-MAGA content.
Why wouldn’t we expect the same from TikTok if Trump’s allies take control?
And you thought that a Fascist takeover of the media would be difficult.
Stop and digest that: 300 new offices, 10,000 new storm troopers. Any concerns, Chris? LBR? Sarah?
These are perilous times. We can’t afford feckless (some possible synonyms: useless, worthless, incompetent, inefficient, ineffectual, counterproductive, good-for-nothing, ne’er-do-well, idle, slothful, indolent (I like that one), shiftless, spiritless (I prefer ‘soulless’), apathetic (feel free to drop the first ‘a’) representation in DC or in Dover. If you agree, run for something.
Sometimes, these Open Threads write themselves. Today is such a day. I hope that many of you reflect on just where we are now, and that you take action to stem the tide.
What do you want to talk about?