Trump Calls on the FCC to Punish His Critics

In this special edition of The Reason Roundtable, Senior Editor Robby Soave is joined by Associate Editor Liz Wolfe, reporter Reem Ibrahim, and Senior Producer Zach Weissmueller to discuss President Donald Trump’s latest threat to wield the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. They consider Trump’s readiness to deploy government power to silence viewpoints he dislikes, whether the FCC remains relevant in the digital media era, and what the president’s assaults on the press imply about the Republican Party’s stance on free speech.

The panel also examines Trump’s intensifying confrontation with Iran, Meta’s $17 billion settlement over alleged harms to minors and who ought to bear the duty of curbing children’s social media usage—parents or the government—and Milo Yiannopoulos’ deportation amid his clash with Laura Loomer.

 

0:00—Trump urges the FCC to sanction Welker

13:58—U.S. and Iran exchange strikes in the Strait of Hormuz

23:56—Meta agrees to a $17 billion settlement

45:15—Yiannopoulos is deported

52:08—Weekly cultural recommendations

 

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Mentioned in the podcast:

“Trump Declared NBC’s Kristen Welker Will Be ‘Reported To the FCC For Rebuke or Punishment’,” by Liz Wolfe

“A Liberal Think Tank and an Air Force Major Are Trump’s Latest Targets for Speech Policing,” by Joe Lancaster

“What Craigslist and Backpage Can Tell Us About the Meta Settlement,” by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

“Haidt’s Moment,” by Liz Wolfe

“9/11 Turbocharged America’s Worst Foreign Policy Impulses—but Didn’t Change Its Direction,” by Emma Ashford

“Milo Yiannopoulos Wanted Millions Deported. He Didn’t Mean Himself,” by Billy Binion

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