Nailed the Law Firms, Crushed Major Universities, Ignored the Courts, So…

Nailed the Law Firms, Crushed Major Universities, Ignored the Courts, So…

Time to Finish the Job of Burying Media that Opposes Trump

It’s not just the “anti-woke” censorship that dominates attack on media (and public libraries!); it’s dictation of what the press must say, how towing the MAGA line is the key even to access government press conferences and inside interviews, and as an extension of Trump’s blatant miss-use of “antisemitism” as he rains fire and brimstone down those radical leftist [insert name of target]. And since thought often emanates through universities, notwithstanding their massive beneficial impact on growth, Trump is willing to defund research and remove non-profit status from their alumni funding efforts. Muzzle universities, and maybe they will shut up; curb protests against Trump and his policies and even seek to support his causes as many law firms did.

That antisemitism cry did not resonate with Harvard’s President, Alan Garber, who is Jewish. But his regulatory appointments hear the message: destroy critics of Trump and his team, decimate those who tout a liberal point of view, challenge any broadcast license from a telecaster that dares to embrace any liberal bias and either deny or very, very, very slow walk any mergers or acquisitions where one of the parties is viewed as enabling left-leaning anything within their field of vision. It’s very short path from college to mainstream press, since almost everyone that has developed a name in journalism has a college degree or more.

Trump loves fighting that culture war, because although “my culture/religion is more legitimate that yours” caters to and inflames passions – if he can enrage enough people against his opponents, it’s a victory for him. It taints even the most convincing logic but uttered by a culture warrior from the other side, that logic will not be heard. For those Democrats who step into those culture battles, they apparently don’t realize that they can seldom win over people whose passions are deeply rooted in religion or a cult based on a personality. But still, autocrats fear a free press looking into events and people that are dark and ugly, which might check obvious conflicts of interest and corruption or out-and-out violations of the law.

Name me any autocracy that has a free press. Zippo. And Trump, who has sued media outlets, instructed his FCC appointments to challenge broadcast licenses and, in recent moves, require members of the press to turn over their notes and contacts under subpoena from Trump’s personal law firm, the Department of Justice, total control of the press is his obvious goal. Trump lacky JD Vance said “professors are the enemy of the people,” expanding on Trump’s long-term statement that “mainstream media are the enemy of the people.” You can see the instrumentalities of Trumpian autocracy form, as members of his cabinet express outrate as judges simply do their job and, unlike any of Trump’s appointments sworn to uphold the Constitution who do the opposite, to follow the law.

Aside from referring to the “rule of law” (which MAGA interprets as “whatever Trump orders”), finding antisemitism under every rock, there is an equally “hot” debate as to the meaning of the “public interest.” It used to mean verifiable facts relevant to voters’ forming viable opinions; but under Trump, it’s enforcing Trump’s vision everywhere. Like FCC Chair, Brendon Carr “It’s not just Carr’s newfound slipperiness that has his former allies murmuring—it’s the transformation of the man himself. Once a self-styled regulatory minimalist, Carr has reemerged as a veritable culture warrior, repositioning the F.C.C. not as a neutral arbiter, but as an ideological weapon.” Puck.com, April 23rd.

In the April 18th Puck.com, Dylan Byers, reminds us: “In his first 100 or so days as F.C.C chairman, Brendan Carr is proving to be as fast and pugnacious as anyone in the Trump administration, and that’s no small feat. Carr has already tormented legacy media, and ostensibly devoured the media attention that attends his scalp-hunting. Since assuming control of the F.C.C., Carr has launched investigations into both Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Disney’s ABC over their D.E.I. initiatives; into PBS and NPR over their airing of commercial advertisements; and into a San Francisco–based radio station for revealing the locations of undercover ICE agents. Most notably, he demanded that CBS turn over the raw footage of their 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, suggesting that their fairly benign alternate editings of the tape could be relevant to whether or not the F.C.C. grants approval of David Ellison’s $8 billion Skydance-Paramount merger.

“On Wednesday [4/16], in his latest calculated fit of pique, Carr took aim at Comcast once again—this time, however, it was over MSNBC’s coverage of the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was whisked away to a maximum security prison in El Salvador last month without trial or due process. In the view of many federal judges, Garcia’s deportation was ‘lawless’ and ‘unconscionable,’ and the Supreme Court was unanimous in its declaration that the White House should ‘facilitate’ his return. Garcia’s attorneys argue that their client is a caring father and family man, while the Trump administration contends that he’s a dangerous criminal and gang member—exactly the sort of factual dispute that could be resolved by, you know… due process.” As ABC and CBS seem willing to settle Trump initiated lawsuits ($$) against the press, there is a growing fear that Trump’s efforts of shutting down the press are working.

There’s a lot of irony in Trump’s attacks on the very media that actually made him a public figure sufficiently recognizable, such that he could run for the presidency and win. Even before the “you’re fired” days on The Apprentice, the press seemed obsessed with this brazen scion of money making the journey from Brooklyn, where his father reigned supreme, to Manhattan… and then to Washington, D.C. Though his path was littered with tales of infidelity, use of prostitutes, tax evasion (note a conviction here), vendors left unpaid, multiple corporate bankruptcies, that taint of fraud that seemed to hover around his businesses, his unbridled but most effective nasty nicknames he pulled out, that the press seemed to love, denigrating anyone opposing him, pushed him to rise in the public eye and somehow earned him a reputation of being a successful businessman.

His tendency towards grift did not subside even as President, as he touted crypto (owned by his family) and Teslas on White House property, sold Bibles, pricey gold sneakers, lots of hats and tee shirts, a gold watch, and even a gold visa ($5M and a door to citizenship) to name just a few. He set up a corporation in which he owned tons of stock, knowing that if people bought enough shares, his stock would rise quickly. His son-in-law, with no discernible skills or experience in major private equity management, raised $2 billion from the Saudi Royal family for a fund he would run.

In the end, it is the public that is losing most of all. “Officially, virtually every media company maintains that its scrutiny of the Trump administration has been undeterred by these threats—and, to be sure, any perusal of the major non-Fox news outlets on television or online yields ample critical coverage. Inside these news organizations, however, many executives, producers, editors, and journalists speak to an undeniable chill factor that manifests itself in a far more cautious approach to everything from story pitches to narrative framing to headlines.” Byers. And without the slightest doubt, Trump’s embrace of autocracy, justified by a thoroughly unqualified attorney general, is his absolute goal.

I’m Peter Dekom, and until those with their own ability to discern what is really happening speak up… or stand up and scream… Trump has become the greatest political intimidator in American history… and will only accelerate his efforts until someone stops him.