Donald Trump wants Seth Meyers fired.
This July, CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ahead of Paramount’s Skydance merger.
In September, Trump seemed to get his way against Jimmy Kimmel, only for ABC to reverse course after public outcry.
But Trump’s war against free speech isn’t over. He’s taking aim at the NBC Late Night host, and
Donald Trump wants Seth Meyers fired ‘immediately’
When ABC briefly put Jimmy Kimmel’s show on hiatus following the White House’s clear threats through FCC chairman Brendan Carr, it was difficult to determine what exactly was the excuse.
Something related to Charlie Kirk or his death, ostensibly, but even conservative viewers had difficulty pinpointing the offending line. It was, many pointed out, merely a pretext to silence a critic.
In the case of NBC’s Late Night, the situation is different.
Donald Trump is calling for Seth Meyers’ firing.
This time, he isn’t pretending to single out a single joke or comment. It’s more like … he hates everything.
On his curiously named very own social media network, Trump posted a rant about viewing Meyers “in an uncontrollable rage” following widespread coverage of the former reality star’s Jeffrey Epstein ties.
“NBC’s Seth Meyers is suffering from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS),” he proclaimed.
Trump Derangement Syndrome is the fringe right’s cringe attempt to medicalize outrage over Trump’s words, actions, and crimes.
“He was viewed last night in an uncontrollable rage,” Trump alleged.
He wrote that this was “likely due to the fact that his ‘show’ is a Ratings DISASTER.”
Brendan Carr seems eager to do Trump’s will
“Aside from everything else,” Donald Trump continued in his anti-Seth Meyers tirade, the comedian “has no talent.”
He then suggested: “And NBC should fire him, IMMEDIATELY!”
As is always the case with Trump, his choices regarding punctuation and grammar are puzzling. However, the recently publicized Epstein emails demonstrate that his broader social circle seems to share some of his idiosyncrasies.
Obviously, someone occupying the White House calling for the firing of a television host for criticizing them is appalling and anti-American. But this is more than mere bluster.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr boosted the post in a tweet, doubling down upon the menacing text with the implied threat that he would take steps to apply governmental pressure to serve his master’s will.
It is not the role of the FCC to regulate speech. And, officially, Carr cannot do that.
However, he can violate the United States constitution by approving or denying certain mergers based upon whether corporations roll over and obey Trump’s edicts.
We all saw as Skydance and Paramount merged. The resulting massive media company is now under Trump sycophant David Ellison — this after Paramount paid an apparent bribe to Trump’s presidential library and also fired Colbert (the company claims that this was for financial reasons).
Following the ideological fall of CBS News, CNN could be next. NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast, is one of the expected bidders for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The FCC can approve or deny mergers. Under Carr, these approvals may be subject to the capricious whims of America’s self-appointed king.
Parts of the GOP are in revolt, but will it last? Will it matter?
Some have pointed out that Brendan Carr has previously defended satire and free speech. However, under Trump, that is clearly out the window, like many of America’s founding principles.
Will Donald Trump be able to fire Seth Meyers? That depends upon whether NBCUniversal is run by cowards. So … that’s up in the air.
The good news is that Trump’s power is actively and sharply waning at the moment. His ability to bully congress into refusing to check his power stems largely from his power over the GOP base.
That control has weakened after months of his actively sabotaging the economy for no reason. Sending ICE to terrorize American communities hasn’t done him many favors, either.
Of course, Trump may lack the cognitive capacity to realize how much power he’s losing. And, if he does, we all know that a cornered beast is at its most dangerous.
His desire to persecute his enemies — a fast-growing list that appears to include most of America — will continue to outlast his ability to grasp complex topics or follow conversations. He will continue to take aim at critics, and toadies like Carr will continue to pull the trigger.