Trump’s FCC Chair Threatens To Pull ABC’s Broadcast License Over DEI

Brendan Carr, the Trump-backed chair of the FCC, said during a Fox News interview this week that it isn’t completely off the table to think that the FCC could pull ABC’s broadcast license because their parent company, Disney, still has “DEI” policies in place. This is the attack on the media that we all expected, but that doesn’t make it any less shocking. If they can make these threats against one of the oldest networks in the world, then nothing is off limits. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains what’s happening.

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

Brendan Carr, the chair of the FCC, who of course was put in power by Donald Trump, admitted in a Fox News interview this week with Jackie Hunter, or Heinrich, excuse me, Jackie Heinrich, um, that, yeah, we may have to pull ABC's broadcast license because their parent company, Disney is of course still doing D-E-I-D-E-I, that big great villain of the Trump administration, that thing they have to destroy might cause a, b, c one of the oldest networks on the planet to lose their broadcasting license. Here is what happened during that exchange on Fox News, Jackie Heinrich asked Brendan Carr quote, you're probe into Disney's DEI policies. Their senior, senior council writes, this is all about bullying and intimidation. Mr. Carr's most powerful tool is his vote on the commission to approve mergers and acquisitions. Is this about Disney's hiring practices or is it about something else? What a stupid like softball question.

But anyway, Brendan Carr responds saying quote, yeah, this is about the hiring practices and their, their employment practices. Look, broadcasters in Disney owns one A BC. They have an obligation under federal law. We have EEO rules at the FCC, which means you can't make hiring decisions based on protected characteristics including gender and race. And the evidence we have so far indicates potentially that dis hold up, hold up, hold up, hold the up. You say you have evidence, okay? And that it indicates something may have happened. Okay? No, then that's not evidence that do, do you know what the word evidence means? Evidence means we can prove it, but you're saying evidence means that maybe potentially they could have been doing something that might somehow be construed as illegal. Like you are going through verbal gymnastics to try to justify this, which means of course you have nothing. But I'll continue with his response.

And the evidence we have so far indicates potentially that Disney and a B, C were making employment decisions based on race and gender, including having effectively race defined affinity groups within the company. We have evidence that they put quotas in place based on specific demographics if the evidence does in fact play out right there. Again, that is another phrase that means, uh, we got a bunch of. So, you know, if the evidence does in fact fact play out and shows that they were engaged in race and gender-based discrimination, that's a very serious issue at the FCC that could fundamentally go to their character qualifications to even hold a license.

But we're gonna follow the facts wherever they go. Look, president Trump's been clear. We are turning the page on DEI The first week I was chairman of the FCC, I said, we're ending our own promotion of DEI At the FCC. People would be shocked if they learned the millions of dollars that the FCC alone was spending to promote. DEI We had it listed as our second highest strategic priority. You have nothing. You're admitting you have nothing, but you're threatening to strip the broadcast license of A B, C, not because of DEI, but because Donald Trump is mad at George Stephanopoulos, even though, uh, you know, they decided we're gonna give him the money anyway and settle that suit. Trump has a bone to pick with the corporate media and this is the way they're gonna pick it. They take this invisible villain that they can't even define that.