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, “should lose its license, and it should be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as should all other Broadcast Licenses, because they are just as corrupt as CBS — and maybe even WORSE!”
The community “has just created the Greatest Fraud in Broadcast History,” he mentioned, referring to claims he made Wednesday that CBS closely edited its latest interview with Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, to make her look “more Presidential” and conceal that she’s “virtually incoherent.”
Trump, who backed out of his “60 Minutes” interview on the final minute, claimed in a follow-up submit that CBS is “A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.” (He faces that very same accusation, which is on the middle of two of his legal indictments.)
It’s conceivable that Trump, who has lengthy had a fraught relationship with the press, may act on this menace if he wins again the White Home subsequent month. Consultants have famous there’s an obscure provision within the 1934 Communications Act permitting presidents to close down broadcasters within the pursuits of “national emergency” or “national security.”
Michael M. Santiago by way of Getty Pictures
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 take away” ABC’s license for its dealing with of the September debate between him and Harris.
Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the FCC, launched a press release dismissing Trump’s calls for, saying, “The First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Commission does not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.”
Trump made the similar calls for about NBC and CNN earlier this yr after they didn’t broadcast his full speech after successful Iowa’s caucuses. And whereas nonetheless president in 2018, he posted on social media: “I have long criticized NBC and their journalistic standards-worse than even CNN. Look at their license?”
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His claims concerning 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 may see the complete transcripts right here.
It’s not clear why two completely different variations have been launched or whether or not the footage was edited for size or readability. Representatives for CBS didn’t reply to requests for remark.
