Transcript: Trump’s rage at CBS over Kamala interview takes a dark turn

Sozen: That’s why his arguments are ridiculous and also dangerous for democracy. This is what authoritarians do. As we know, Trump is trying to suffocate anyone who dares question his lies, which are central to how MAGA works. And oOne thing I will point out is that one of his favorite news networks, of course, is far-right Fox News. If I remember correctly, a few years ago, Tucker Carlson, who at the time had his number 1 Fox News show, did a long interview with Kanye West, who was known for saying extremely anti-Semitic, dangerous and disturbing things. After Carlson aired this interview, it came to light that Carlson and his staff edited several things, perhaps several politically unhelpful and inflammatory things. And you didn’t hear President Biden calling for Fox News to lose its broadcast licenses or be punished for it, did you? This would be a violation of the law and political norms.

Sergeant: yes This is a case where only one party attacks the press for telling the truth. WI have to say here that regardless of what you think of CBS’s handling of the Harris interview, it was fine. But even if you think it was wrong, this idea that it should be punished by government action should be covered as a scandal. It should be a scandal that one of the leading candidates for the presidency continues to say this. It’s a clear window into what a second Trump term would look like. You have a new report on how Project 2025 would essentially allow for an Imperial presidency, and a big one at that part of the report is about how an unchained executive could go after the media in exactly this way. Discuss how Project 2025 creates a channel for the president to use the Federal Communications Commission for this purpose. Can you talk about how that would work?

Susan: Absolutely. This is a new report I wrote for the Center for American Progress with my co-author, Ben Olinsky. We cover several different ways Project 2025 would really overthrow the checks and balances, and one of the things we wanted to focus on was the intentional weakening of the media. As you said, one of the ways that Project 2025 envisions allowing a president to manipulate the levers of the media is for him to manipulate the Federal Communications Commission, perhaps in conjunction with the Department of Justice or other government entities. This would allow them to attack media companies and their authorized outlets after journalists dare to report negatively on a president. For example, as we write, an FCC that could be controlled by an authoritarian president could revoke the broadcast licenses of major network affiliates like CBS, like NBC. They are networks that Americans trust for their news. meAlso, the DOJ and a newly non-independent FCC or Federal Trade Commission could launch dubious investigations, antitrust investigations, for example, into media companies that criticize the president.