ICYMI: Ron Johnson Calls Out Trump’s FCC For Attacks on Independent Networks
Washington, D.C. – This weekend, FCC Chair Brendan Carr doubled down on his attacks against independent broadcasting, drawing new ire even from GOP Sen. Ron Johnson and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
On Saturday, Carr threatened to revoke licenses of networks whose coverage of the conflict in Iran he didn’t agree with, calling broadcasters’ reporting on the conflict “hoaxes” and “distortions.” This is just the latest example of Trump’s FCC operating as a weapon against Trump’s perceived enemies - and Johnson called out the “heavy-handed government.”
In the past, the FCC has come under fire from other MAGA stalwarts for their attacks on independent broadcasters - including Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul.
Key GOP Quotes on the FCC’s Overreach:
In reaction to Carr threatening to revoke licenses of broadcasters based on their coverage of the Iran conflict:
SEN. RON JOHNSON: “I am a big supporter of the First Amendment,” Johnson said on Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing.” “I do not like the heavy-handed government, no matter who is wielding it. … I would rather the federal government stay out of the private sector as much as possible.”
FMR. REP MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: ““It’s the responsibility of journalists and media companies to get the truth out to the American people, and I never want to see the government take control or try to take that away,” Greene said during an interview Monday on CNN. “Americans are fed a lot of propaganda depending on the political views of the media platform. That’s wrong. No government, whether Republican or Democrat, should ever put a lid or any type of threatening enforcement on media companies as they try to get the truth out.”
In reaction to Carr threatening broadcasters for airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live”:
SEN. TED CRUZ: “I got to say that's right out of 'Goodfellas'," Cruz said, evoking the Martin Scorsese gangster movie. "That's right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, 'Nice bar you have here. It would be a shame if something happened to it'."
SEN. RAND PAUL: “Absolutely inappropriate. Brendan Carr has got no business weighing in on this,” Paul said in an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” when asked if Carr’s remarks were appropriate.”
