Donald Trump’s wrath over CBS Information’ “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris continued into Thursday, now with him demanding the century-old community and all different TV information stations lose their broadcasting licenses.
CBS, Trump charged on social media, “ought to lose its license, and it must be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as ought to all different Broadcast Licenses, as a result of they’re simply as corrupt as CBS — and possibly even WORSE!”
The community “has simply created the Biggest Fraud in Broadcast Historical past,” he mentioned, referring to claims he made Wednesday that CBS closely edited its current interview with Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, to make her look “extra Presidential” and conceal that she’s “nearly incoherent.”
Trump, who backed out of his “60 Minutes” interview on the final minute, claimed in a follow-up post that CBS is “A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.” (He faces that very same accusation, which is on the middle of two of his prison indictments.)
It’s conceivable that Trump, who has lengthy had a fraught relationship with the press, may act on this risk if he wins again the White Home subsequent month. Specialists have famous there’s an obscure provision within the 1934 Communications Act permitting presidents to close down broadcasters within the pursuits of “nationwide emergency” or “nationwide safety.”
That is hardly the primary time Trump has lashed out at networks by making threats about their broadcasting licenses, that are given out by the Federal Communications Fee. Simply final month, he referred to as into Fox Information, saying the FCC “ought to remove” ABC’s license for its dealing with of the September debate between him and Harris.
Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the FCC, released a statement dismissing Trump’s calls for, saying, “The First Modification is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Fee doesn’t revoke licenses for broadcast stations just because a politician disagrees with or dislikes content material or protection.”
Trump made the same demands about NBC and CNN earlier this 12 months after they didn’t broadcast his full speech after profitable Iowa’s caucuses. And whereas nonetheless president in 2018, he posted on social media: “I’ve lengthy criticized NBC and their journalistic standards-worse than even CNN. Have a look at their license?”
His claims in regards to the “60 Minutes” interview with Harris seem to stem from two completely different clips CBS has launched of Harris answering the identical query about Israel from host Invoice Whitaker. One exhibits her giving a one-sentence response, whereas one other exhibits her giving a lengthier reply that features her response from the shorter clip. You possibly can see the complete transcripts right here.
It’s not clear why two completely different variations had been launched or whether or not the footage was edited for size or readability. Representatives for CBS didn’t reply to requests for remark.
