FrEe SpEEcH (isn't it funny how he hasn't targeted the one news network that had to pay out $780M for spreading lies on air?)
In a
separate item, as his online meltdown continued, he added that the “UNPRECEDENTED SCANDAL!!! — which appears to exist only in his mind — should possibly force the Democratic ticket to “concede the Election.”
Perhaps most importantly, the GOP nominee
wrote, “CBS 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!”
In case that weren’t quite enough, Trump kept going during a speech at the Detroit Economic Club — he was supposed to deliver remarks on economic policy — adding
new and imaginary details to his conspiracy theory, while
again calling for CBS to lose its broadcast license.
After the event, the former president returned to his online platform,
claiming he has “PROOF” to substantiate his bizarre claims, though he still hasn’t shared any such evidence.
This proved to be a bit too much for Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who
issued a written statement responding to Trump’s nonsense. From her statement:
The part of this that stood out for me was the fact that the FCC “does not” revoke licenses for broadcast stations. It’s a highly relevant detail. In fact, as
The Washington Post reported, “According to the FCC, only individual broadcast stations are licensed, not networks in their entirety. ‘We do not license TV or radio networks (such as CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox) or other organizations that stations have relationships with, such as PBS or NPR, except if those entities are also station licensees,’ the FCC says on its website.”
In other words, Trump didn’t just concoct a hysterical conspiracy theory, he also reminded the public that
he has no idea what he’s talking about.
Nevertheless, the Republican is
now on record targeting the broadcast licenses of CBS, ABC, CNN, NBC and MSNBC.