There is no more clear evidence that we have an authoritarian government than the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s comedy show over comments about Charlie Kirk. Donald Trump has loudly criticized Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon for their comedy routines criticizing him. Stephen Colbert’s show was canceled and Jimmy Kimmel’s show was briefly on suspension.

Trump uses the FCC’s licensing capabilities to carry out his grievance. With Brendan Carr as chairman of the FCC, Trump has been able to extort media companies seeking FCC licensure to silence his opposition. He has similarly used federal agencies to harass and threaten other media and educational outlets including but not limited to NPR, PBS, ABC, CBS, Harvard, Columbia and the Kennedy Center to control their content.

Now, with Pam Bondi as attorney general and Brendan Carr as head of the FCC, he is using the resources of the federal government to silence his opposition and seek retribution, an election promise.

Oddly, in his inauguration speech, Donald Trump promised to defend free speech, but that appears to be a promise he keeps only for his MAGA constituency when they support him. Soon, we’ll be left only with Trump propaganda media.

Donna Brown
Pownal