Trump presses FCC to quash free speech

By: Rob Miraldi
columnist

..... I'm not sure whether to blame - or thank - Woopi Goldberg or Jimmy Kimmel, but somebody has lite a fire under President Donald Trump, and he is trying his darnedest to violate the law and the First Amen dent - again. This time it's with his use and abuse of the Federal Communication Commission.
..... This sample repartee shows why he is so ticked off: Every morning, 2.5 million Americans watch the ABC talk show "The View," which admittedly, is no friend of the president.
..... "The White House says 'You Know who remains in excellent health," observed co-host Goldberg, a few days after Trump's annual physical exam.
..... "The View" then showed clips of Trump apparently dozing at an Oval Office meeting. The White House denied he was sleeping. "He was blinking, you absolute moron," was the official White House response.
..... Fellow co-host Joy Behar quipped in response, as her audience laughed, "Just because your eyes go down doesn't mean you're asleep."
..... "Those are very long blinks," Behar added. "Melania must be keeping him up at night."
..... The White House fired back.
..... "Joy Behar is an irrelevant loser," a spokesperson said. "It's no surprise that 'The View's ratings hit an all-time lowest year," [2025] although the program is the highest rated morning talk show. "She should self-reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump's historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off air."

A Trump fight with the media is not a surprise, Pressuring ABC is.

..... The sixth-grade food fight is no surprise these days, but what raised eyebrows was the intimation that "The View," along with harsh critic and late-night host Kimmel, also on ABC, were being pressured by the government agency that issues eight-year licenses to over-the-airwaves TV stations (1,770) and radio stations (15,685).
..... Comedians, as we know, especially nowadays, get into squabbles bordering on brawls with the man in the White House. And nothing is wrong - legally - with that. Presidents are allowed to fire off criticism of speakers they disagree with or don't like. And speakers are allowed to throw zingers back.
..... Shouldn't the press be encouraged to be the adversary of the president? To be critical of those in authority? In fact, any speaker can criticize those in power. And, of course, the president has the right to fight back. He can call Kaitlin Collins of CNN nasty thins - in the same way the press is allowed to say nasty things about him.
..... You might wonder, shouldn't the Federal Communication Commission intervene when people get nasty on the public airwaves? When Congress passed the original law in 1934 regulation radio, it was very clear: Nothing in the power of the FCC allows it to censor broadcaster. Hands off the journalists and the speakers!
..... What's troubling here is that the president is using the independent FCC to threaten the licenses that corporations such as NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox now hold, the stations you watch every evening. He does not get it: The licensee, not the authorities, has editorial control, in fact, you have more control than the FCC; you can turn off the channel. Trump cannot touch the station.
.... But look at the big picture: The Trump master campaign is to silence his critics as part of a rolling retribution campaign. Former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, sexual assault victim E. Jean Carroll. Criticize or disagree, and Trump will come after you. Media and television personalities included: Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Rosie O'Donnell.
..... Trump is now pressing the FCC to force ABC into an early licensing approval, a blatant attempt to challenge the media's right to criticize the president. It is punishment, and the 45 words of the First Amendment forbid the government to punish a speaker because it does not like the ideas. The government must be "content neutral," unless your goal is to turn media into a government - controlled press, as in authoritarian countries.
..... As Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic member of the FCC, points out, "The targeting of a group of stations to punish a parent company has never happened in history."
..... And it's not the first attempt. When CBS-Paramount was negotiating a merger - which Trump could help or hurt - the president pushed to get Cobert off the air. He succeeded, despite the show's popularity, Back-door censorship!

How did the FCC evolve?

..... Step back for a second to the 1920swhen the airwaves were coming into focus. Guglielmo Marconi first transmitted a signal in 1897, but it became clear by the 1920s that someone had to regulate. After all, everyone could not sue the same wavelength without utter confusion.
..... Moreover, after World War I, Washington feared that propagandists would seize the megaphone offered by radio and threaten the nation. Enter Congress, first with the Federal Radio Commission in 1927 and then with the FCC in 1934. Radio, telegraph and telephone communications were all regulated by a single authority. Eventually, television enter the picture.
..... But the FCC has no jurisdiction over the Internet or streaming TV. The air above your house is owned by the public. But Netflix and Amazon enter your home on a private cable, not a public resource.
..... Netflix does not need a license; ABC does. Licensing has long bee a fear concept for those who believed in free speech. Because when the central authorities have the power to decide who could speak, they might give licenses only to political friends.
..... Today, license-giving by the FCC is a politically and minimal rules come with the licenses. That wasn't always true.
..... At a time of "scarce" TV channels - before hundreds of cable stations and streaming - the government tired to ensure some order. The rules: stations had to be "fair," which meant presenting opposing sides of issues; allow someone who was criticized the chance to respond; as certain what "news" was important in their communicates; and give equal time to candidates in federal elections.
..... By the way, those are all ideals of journalism, but they are not mandated by the government. As more channels emerged, the government - first under Ronald Reagan and then under Bill Clinton - deregulated broadcasting. Today, we ask them to do virtually nothing - just rake in money - $9.36 billion for ABC stations in 2025.
..... Back to Trump's complaints about the airwaves: If he had said, let's tackle the question again about what it mens to be a "public trustee," I would applaud.
..... If Trump said let's renew strict regulation that Clinton removed over how many stations any single entity could control, I'd applaud. But his only concern was criticism aimed at him.
..... In the end, the issue comes down to big philosophical questions. Do you want the media to help us in our lives and make democracy function better? to be public trustees? Or do you want a bunch of fat cats owning lats of media properties, making lots of money and giving back little?
..... Or even worse, do you want a government that can control the voices you see and hear each evening? Let's hope not. The more voices the merrier, including the ones that don't like the man in charge.

..... Rob Miraldi's First Amendment writing has won numerous awards. he tough journalism at the State University of New York for many years. Email: rob.miraldi@gmail.com

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