FCC Chair's 'Patriotic' Nonsense Is Straight Out Of North Korea
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, low-key one of the worst people in the Trump administration, has a pledge for all you patriot broadcasters as we approach America’s 250th birthday. It’s voluntary—wink, wink!
The pledge features the usual burbling about how great it is that our glorious leader, President Donald Trump, is marching us to the semiquincentennial, which will occur on July 4, 2026. But then it gets to the meat of the pledge, which urges broadcasters to air “patriotic, pro-America content that celebrates the American journey and inspires its citizens by highlighting the historic accomplishments of this great nation from our founding through the Trump Administration today.”
What this is really about, though, is signaling to broadcasters that they need to get with the patriot program, and if they do, there might be a little something in it for them.
That’s because this little missive happens to be going to many broadcasters that have pending merger requests or regulatory actions in front of the FCC. If media companies have learned one thing from this administration, it is that you have to suck up to Carr and Trump if you want to do business. And it’s an extremely unsubtle way to signal to companies that they should integrate Carr’s patriotic suggestions into their broadcast day. Indeed, the pledge even says so: “Broadcasters can voluntarily choose to indicate their commitment to the Pledge America Campaign and highlight their ongoing and relevant programming to their viewing and listening audiences.”