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<\/p>\nJonathan Reiss is a co-founder of the Media and Democracy Project.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When Brendan Carr<\/span>, Donald Trump\u2019s Federal Communications Commission chair, demanded that Disney\/ABC jump, the influential media conglomerate replied, \u201cHow high?\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s effectively what happened when Carr, an ardent Trump loyalist, offered<\/a> harsh criticisms of late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s statements about Charlie Kirk\u2019s alleged killer. The comments, Carr said, were \u201csick.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese companies can find way to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there\u2019s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,\u201d Carr said, adding that they could handle situation \u201cthe easy way or the hard way.\u201d<\/p>\n Within hours, Disney\/ABC opted for the easy way, suspending Kimmel\u2019s show \u201cindefinitely.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In his effort to bring the media to heel, Trump could not invent a better ally than Carr.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Disney took the action in the crosshairs. Its move can\u2019t be separated from Carr\u2019s threats \u2014 or years of Trump\u2019s criticism of Kimmel. The president quickly let the truth slip when he said, after Kimmel\u2019s suspension, that television networks providing him \u201cbad publicity\u201d should have their broadcast licenses revoked<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was the latest salvo in the war on freedom of speech waged by the MAGA movement, a war in which Carr has been Trump\u2019s most loyal lieutenant. The FCC holds tremendous sway over broadcast media, but few administrations have pushed the boundaries of its power \u2014 and few appointees at the agency have openly talked about doing so with such nakedly political aims the way Carr does.<\/p>\n In his effort to bring the media to heel, Trump could not invent a better ally than Carr, who has laid out a program for weaponizing the FCC against Trump\u2019s enemies.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not hard to see the extraordinary depth of Carr\u2019s dedication to Trump: While many officials wear American flag pins on their lapels to show loyalty to the country, Carr has proudly posted photos of himself wearing a gold Trump bust \u2014 demonstrating such total fealty that it won admiration on X from Benny Johnson, another Trump loyalist.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Carr jointed the FCC as a staff lawyer in 2012 and was appointed by Trump as a commissioner in 2017.<\/p>\n In 2024, amid the presidential campaign, Carr waged an unabashed campaign to be named FCC chair. He appeared on Fox News espousing Trumpist talking points and authored<\/a> the chapter on the FCC in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation\u2019s controversial blueprint for a new Trump term. Already a commission member, Carr ignored<\/a> the FCC ethics attorney\u2019s warnings about becoming the first sitting government official to work on a political document like Project 2025, and he brushed off admonishments to not use his official title in doing so.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nFrom Plan to Action<\/strong><\/h2>\n