Trump's
censorship-focused regime is at it again. Last
year, major broadcasting network CBS cancelled the show
of a beloved and popular late-night comedian, Stephen
Colbert, who had been critical of Trump. (CBS is
owned by a Trump ally.) Then, last month, his Department
of Justice arrested two Black journalists for doing
their jobs.
And now, Trump's team has
successfully pressured CBS to block Colbert from airing
an interview with an aspiring Democratic politician in
Texas. Conveniently, early voting has also just
begun in the Texas primary elections.
Colbert had
invited James Talarico to speak on his show — and, since
both Colbert and Talarico are supposed to be entitled to
freedom of speech, that should have been fine. But
Talarico is running to become the Democratic
candidate for the Texas state senate — and if he
wins the Democratic primary, he would become a lawmaker
in Texas if he wins the general election.
As
Colbert explained: "I think that Donald Trump is
worried that we're about to flip Texas. ... they're
trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we
read."
Apparently, not only did CBS's network
lawyers tell Colbert "in no uncertain terms" that they
could not broadcast the interview with Talarico — but
they also wanted Colbert to hide the fact of this
censorship. According to Colbert: "Then I was told,
in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have
him on, I could not mention me not having him
on."
Censorship is wrong. Trump and his Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) chairman, Brendan Carr,
are clearly to blame. But it's even worse when
companies that are supposed to represent freedom of
speech cave to this kind of totalitarian
pressure.
The head of CBS broadcasting
should be ashamed. Demand an immediate resignation and
an apology to Colbert, Talarico, and the
public!
