There could be a little something brewing between Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and President Trump over what took place on the Hill this week with the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr.
If you recall, Carr was very vocal about the comments made by late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Many people blamed Carr’s comments for Kimmel’s suspension, and we can apparently count Sen. Cruz in that group.
Trump had repeatedly threatened to sic Carr on major networks because they don’t cover him positively. In September, Trump stated, "They give me only bad press. They're getting a license. I think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr. I think Brendan Carr is outstanding. He's a patriot. He loves our country, and he's a tough guy. So we'll see."
Networks, however, do not actually hold the broadcasting licenses, as they are held by all the local affiliate stations.
Then, after Kimmel made his comments about the alleged Kirk assassin, Carr had stated, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
His comments were perceived as a direct threat, or ultimatum, if you will, that something had better be done to Kimmel, or else.
After Kimmel was suspended, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the commission, stated, "The FCC is weaponizing its licensing authority in order to bring broadcasters to heel, and to really think twice about what they say about this administration.”
The irony, of course, is that Trump has always proclaimed himself to be a huge advocate of free speech, but every time someone says something he does not like, he tells Carr to go after them.
If you remember, during Trump’s inauguration speech, he stated, "After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression. I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America."
As I have noted many times, the toughest thing about free speech is to defend it when you don’t like what the other person is saying.
Fast forward to this week, when Carr was on the Hill, and Sen. Cruz went off on him over what Cruz deems to be a direct attack on the First Amendment. Cruz addressed Carr during the hearing, stating, “That’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.'”
He continued, “Jimmy Kimmel is angry, overtly partisan, and profoundly unfunny. That, sadly, is true for most late-night comedians today, who seem to have been collectively broken by President Trump’s election. Jimmy’s remarks about Charlie Kirk were tasteless, and ABC and its affiliates would have been fully within their rights to fire him, or simply to no longer air his program.”’
Cruz concluded, “That was their choice. But what government cannot do is force private entities to take actions that the government cannot take directly. Government officials threatening adverse consequences for disfavored content is an unconstitutional coercion that chills protected speech. This is why it was so insidious how the Biden administration jawboned social media into shutting down conservatives online over accurate information on COVID or voter fraud.”
Let’s remember, Carr was encouraged to go after Kimmel by Trump, so this, in essence, is Cruz calling Trump a hypocrite and directly challenging a Trump order. We all know how Trump acts when he feels crossed, so the underlying drama is how this will impact the relationship between Cruz and Trump.
