FCC Chair Brendan Carr joined Scott Jennings to talk about ABC's 'indefinite' suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. Yesterday, Carr spoke with Benny Johnson and said the FCC could pursue measures against the broadcaster and Kimmel over his remarks about the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk.
The Left, of course, melted down over this, and Kimmel is reportedly "livid." Some conservatives also expressed concern about possible government censorship and overreach in the matter, especially when Democrats regain power.
The segment with Carr begins at 35:00
REMINDER: @FCC CHAIRMAN @BrendanCarrFCC joins the show at 233pm today to discuss the ABC/Kimmel situation. https://t.co/2MUCZdoBJE
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) September 18, 2025
Carr noted that people were quick to "point the finger" at President Trump and the FCC but were missing the "much broader dynamic that's taking place in the media ecosystem." Carr credited Trump with smashing the "facade that they [legacy media] can dictate what the American people think and what they're allowed to say."
He also noted that "individual local TV stations" who air programming under a federal license, and that they have an "obligation because they do have a federal license to make sure that they're serving the public interest."
Carr continued, "Local TV stations, first Nexstar...then Sinclair...said 'Listen, we don't want to run Kimmel.' This is TV stations pushing back on national programmers, which I think is a good thing."
Jennings asked Carr about being maligned and blamed for Kimmel's cancellation in relation to the remarks Carr made yesterday about Disney/ABC and Kimmel's show.
Jennings asked Carr, "What specifically did you find objectionable about Kimmel's Monday night monologue?" Carr pointed out the falling ratings of late-night TV and responded that "President Trump has created a permission structure for corporations and for the market itself to start to rationalize." He also noted that late-night turned into the "court cleric" who enforced a "very narrow orthodoxy" and stopped going for laugh lines in favor of applause lines.
When asked if the cancellation was "squarely a business decision" and not driven by pressure or coercion by the federal government, Carr denied coercion and replied, "The market was intended to function this way, where local TV stations get to push back."
Jennings also asked Carr to address conservatives who are worried about a Democratic FCC getting involved down the road. Carr pointed out that under previous Democratic administrations, officials pushed for censorship, including "two Democrat members of Congress from California write letters to Comcast, to Charter, to cable companies, effectively demanding that they drop Fox News, that they drop OAN, that they drop Newsmax." He also said the Biden FCC put the license renewal of a Philadelphia Fox affiliate up for comment, seeking to pull that license over content that aired on Fox News' cable station.
"The list goes on and on and on of the Biden years, Democrats including at the FCC walking down this path of directly intimidating broadcasters and others," Carr said, "and for people that have benefited for years from a two-tiered, weaponized system of justice, it doesn't surprise me that when everybody is getting a fair shake and evenhanded treatment right now that feels somehow like discrimination to them, but it isn't."
He also added that the current FCC is applying the "same precedent" set by Democrats.
Jennings also asked Carr about calls for his resignation. Carr said, "My staff tells me that I need to stop responding to reporters with gifs and memes," and noted he's not going anywhere.
In response to Eric Swalwell's threats of investigations should Democrats regain control of Congress, Carr laughed and said he's going to "keep focused on the job in front of us" and "delivering results for the American people."
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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