Report: FCC Chair Is Stoking The Culture War

• Since becoming FCC chairman in late January, Carr has repeatedly poked the corporate owners of ABC, CBS and NBC — networks the president dislikes.
• Conservatives have said they believe major networks suffer from extreme liberal bias and an intolerance toward opposing points of view. That has harmed America and resulted in a plummeting public trust in national news outlets, they assert, adding that FCC intervention may be justified.
• Carr’s critics, however, said that dangling the FCC’s enforcement authority over broadcasters in the name of protecting free speech does just the opposite.

Amid President Trump’s ongoing attacks on the media, a notable clash emerged this month when Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr targeted Comcast, the parent company of NBC and MSNBC, in an X post. According to a Sunday story in the LA Times, Carr is stoking the Culture Wars in the U-S.   Carr criticized the networks’ coverage of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Trump has claimed Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member—a claim he denies—while Trump’s aides have defied a judge’s order to return him, escalating tensions with federal courts.

Carr accused Comcast’s outlets of misleading viewers by portraying Abrego Garcia as a law-abiding “Maryland man” and distorting the story for days. “News distortion doesn’t cut it,” he wrote. Since taking the FCC helm in January, Carr has frequently jabbed at the corporate owners of ABC, CBS, and NBC, networks Trump often criticizes. 

Last fall, Trump sued CBS for $20 billion, alleging it manipulated a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris to favor her. Trump demanded CBS lose its licenses and turn over unedited footage. CBS complied, and outtakes confirmed the accuracy of the aired quotes, supporting CBS’s defense. The controversy has disrupted Paramount Global, CBS’s owner, and delayed its planned sale to Skydance Media. Last week, the “60 Minutes” chief resigned, citing corporate pressure that undermined editorial independence.

Paramount called the FCC scrutiny and Trump’s lawsuit unrelated and declined further comment. The FCC and Carr’s team did not respond to requests for comment.

Olivia Trusty

Conservatives argue that major networks exhibit liberal bias and suppress opposing views, eroding public trust in news. They see FCC intervention as warranted. In a March interview with Punchbowl News, Carr lamented the FCC’s recent neglect of broadcasters’ public interest obligations and vowed to strengthen enforcement. “If a broadcaster has a problem with that, the FCC address is 45 L Street, Northeast,” he said. “They can give us their licenses back.”

Critics, however, warn that Carr’s threats to broadcasters’ licenses under the guise of protecting free speech undermine it instead. “Is Brendan Carr now deciding what news should cover?” asked Blair Levin, a former FCC staffer and analyst. “I don’t see that in the law.”

Some FCC watchers speculate that Carr will accelerate remaking the agency after the third Republican, Olivia Trusty, wins Senate confirmation.