There is something different about America. It’s in the headlines and social media feeds and coffee shop conversations.
There is a word for it: Authoritarianism. It is new for us, and like any new thing, it is feeling its capacities, stretching its wings, estimating its strengths.
The question for citizens who feel uneasy or opposed to such a transformation is as simple as it is brutal — what are you going to do about it?
Disney-owned ABC first suspended and then reinstated late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel for his monologue about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The bit wasn’t funny, but it was clearly protected by the First Amendment. (Regardless, Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned KOMO has said it will air news content rather than air Kimmel’s show.)
In its statement, Disney said the decision to return “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to the airwaves was made after “thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.”
Thoughtful indeed.
Disney fumbled free speech issues in the past, but not at the behest of the president.
Gina Carano, a prominent Donald Trump supporter who had a major role in the Disney series “The Mandalorian,” was fired by the company in 2021 for what the company at the time dubbed “abhorrent and unacceptable” social media posts.
Last month, Carano settled her federal lawsuit against Disney and its subsidiary Lucasfilm.
What’s the difference between these two examples? There is no evidence that then-President Joe Biden wanted Carano to lose her job. That was very unlike the current situation with Kimmel.
President Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One last week, complained about receiving bad publicity from broadcasters: “That’s something that should be talked about for licensing. … All they do is hit Trump.”
“I would think maybe their license should be taken away,” he said. “It will be up to Brendan Carr,” he added, referring to his Federal Communications Commission chair.
Federal law prohibits the FCC from revoking a broadcaster’s license for negative coverage or other speech the government dislikes. But Carr has launched formal investigations of all of the nation’s major broadcast networks, with the exception of Fox.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr told a podcaster. “These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
The administration’s words will most certainly have a chilling effect on late-night comedians and everyone else associated with network television, including the news divisions.
Meanwhile, Trump seeks to put the weight of the federal government on his perceived political opponents.
Consider the resignation of Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to The New York Times, Seibert had recently told senior Justice Department officials that investigators found insufficient evidence to bring charges against New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and former FBI director James Comey.
Trump wasn’t happy, and he demanded Siebert’s job.
“What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,” he wrote on social media. “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
The transformation of the Justice Department into Trump Inc. will cause innocent people vast sums of money to hire lawyers (and personal security details) to fight unjust cases, no doubt in an attempt to dissuade other administration critics.
What are you going to do about it?
For most people, that question remains yet unanswered.
But the nation is different now. Understanding this reality is essential to writing the next chapters in what was once a great experiment in democracy.
Educate yourself. Engage. Protest. Vote. Resist.
