FCC Chief Carr’s Threats of Retribution Seem To Be Working
This is your TPM evening briefing.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has been one of the most successful sycophants of Trump II thus far, as he increasingly finds creative ways to use his post as head of the communications commission to clamp down on free speech and punish and threaten those in the media whose coverage and commentary President Trump does not like. It’s a story TPM has been covering for months, since Carr’s first attempts to try to get comedian Jimmy Kimmel fired in September of last year.
We’ve got a new datapoint that feeds that hypothesis, courtesy of new reporting from Semafor today.
The daytime talk show “The View” reportedly turned down an offer from the office of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to have two of the Democratic socialist candidates he endorsed ahead of the Democratic primaries on the show for an interview, alongside the mayor.
Show bookers were reportedly open to having Mamdani himself on the show for a discussion, but turned down an opportunity to interview candidates Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, who both went on to win the Dem nomination in their respective races. The reason they declined to have the candidates on was related to the threats that Carr has made against the program, per Semafor:
Among other reasons, the show’s staff noted that it was proceeding cautiously with political candidate bookings while the FCC’s equal time inquiry was progressing.
Back in February, Carr announced that his agency was investigating whether “The View” violated a 1930s era FCC regulation, the “equal time” rule that requires broadcast shows to provide equal airtime to a candidate’s opponent if the program decides to have one candidate on for an interview on public airwaves. Historically, though, daytime and evening talk shows, like “The View” or “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” have been exempt from these regulations.
Ever since Carr threatened “The View” with an investigation, it has not had “a single political candidate running in a competitive midterm race,” according to Semafor. You’ll recall, Carr went after the view right after it had Texas Senate candidate James Talarico on the show for a discussion.
As TPM documented in real time, it was right after this that lawyers for CBS, which had broadcast Colbert’s show, advised the comedian and now, former, late night host against broadcasting a live interview with Talarico. So Colbert defied the network and did the interview with the Democratic candidate — who will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in November for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) seat — anyway, and streamed it on YouTube, raking in millions of views.
Colbert also called out the Trump administration and Trump’s efforts to crack down on dissent live during the broadcast version of the show. Colbert’s show was already canceled at this point, and he had been spending the last few months of its run hosting politicians and guests who spoke directly to Trump’s power grabs.
A spokesperson for “The View” declined to comment to Semafor further than to say that the show is a “bona fide news program” and should be exempt from the equal time rule. That’s a claim that is backed up by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Even one fellow member of the FCC, commissioner Anna Gomez, has called out chairman Carr for his various attempts to intimidate the media into capitulating to the Trump administration’s agenda.
“Let’s be clear on what this is. This is government intimidation, not a legitimate investigation. Like many other so-called ‘investigations’ before it, the FCC will announce an investigation but never carry one out, reach a conclusion, or take any meaningful action,” Gomez told Mediaite when “The View” investigation was announced.
Carr remains unmatched in his efforts to use his post to carry out Trump’s retribution for him.
Planned Parenthood Can Access Medicaid Funding Again
Republicans in Congress did not bother extending a measure included in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill that defunded Planned Parenthood this year — likely because they can’t even get on the same page about their own priorities as Trump demands they pass the SAVE America Act.
So, starting yesterday, Planned Parenthood can once again bill Medicaid for reimbursements for non-abortion procedures and services for low-income patients, like STI testing and prescribing birth control. Planned Parenthood had to shut down 30 clinics around the country after Republicans blocked its access to Medicaid in the reconciliation package last year.
Anti-abortion activists are losing it on Republican leadership for quietly letting the defunding expire, per TPM alum and Politico reporter Alice Ollstein:
Conservative lawmakers and activists are furious with GOP leadership for prioritizing other issues in the summer’s budget battles — including immigration and military spending — over keeping taxpayer dollars out of Planned Parenthood’s hands. In recent weeks, they have sent a barrage of angry letters to Capitol Hill, pressured the White House to intervene, and picketed outside the RNC headquarters in Washington.
Lockheed Martin Feels Bad
While there are a million examples of the blatant corruption running rampant within the Trump administration as political donors and corporations try to curry favor with President Trump, this one is just cartoonish. Trump announced to reporters today that Sikorsky, a subsidiary of defense contractor Lockheed Martin, is going to pay $5 million to $6 million to build a new granite helicopter landing pad on the White House South Lawn, as Trump complains about the mess during landings.
“They didn’t tell us how powerful these helicopters were and they felt a little bit guilty,” Trump said Monday.
Sexual Assault Allegation Against Platner
The account from a woman who has come forward with allegations of sexual assault against Democratic Senate candidate in Maine Graham Platner is deeply disturbing. Platner has denied the allegations.
More from Politico here and WSJ here: Platner Reassesses Maine Senate Bid, Denies Sexual-Assault Allegation
Bangor Daily New: Graham Platner postpones multiple events this week
What to Read From TPM Today
Emine Yücel reports on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) desperation to pass the SAVE America Act as Trump’s demands and a blockade from far-right members over the legislation grind the House floor to a halt: Johnson Has a Not So New Plan For Passing GOP’s Voter Suppression Bill
David Kurtz is back at the helm of Morning Memo with a new dispatch this morning, reflecting on his two-week trip to Denmark and the positives that flow out of a nation that actually invests in its public infrastructure: It Doesn’t Have to be Like This
John Light kicks off the day with a dystopian tale of the Trump administration deleting its own Department of Energy’s guidance on energy-saving settings for AC so that it can call Zohran Mamdani a communist: Trump Admin Appears to Delete Air Conditioner Guidance Amid Right-Wing Freakout
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
‘I’m Mad at Trump’: Even Trumpers Can’t Stand How Shoddy the Great American State Fair Is
What strikes me about Platner, and men like him, is how he thinks things aren’t going to catch up with him, and how he thinks he’s fit to run for office. Not at all a fan of Collins, would love to see her gone, but my radar has been getting warnings about Platner. Women do well to have their guard up and believe their gut. I guess some women have never experienced misogyny and therefore trust men, and don’t see the warning signs (?).