Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) lashed out at American networks ABC and CBS on Thursday for “bending the knee” to the Trump administration following a remarkable revelation shared by late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel revealed Wednesday night that, amid threats from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ABC, an interview with Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico would not air on television and would instead be published online.
Brendan Carr, the chairman of Trump’s FCC, has threatened multiple television broadcasters critical of the Trump administration with license revocation, with some having already modified their programing amid such threats.
After learning of the latest instance of programming seemingly being altered amid the Trump administration’s threats, Lieu appeared to have had enough.
“Dear ABC, CBS and other networks: Grow a f------ spine,” Lieu wrote Thursday in a social media post on X.
“Air whatever interviews with elected officials you want. You will win in court. Bending the knee to an authoritarian Administration only makes things worse. I assume you will now never air an interview of trump as well?”
The incident with Kimmel wasn’t the first time Talarico's television exposure has been blocked. "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" was also barred from airing an interview with the Texas Democrat in February.
Carr's FCC ordered an early, rare review in April of all eight licenses owned by ABC, prompting ABC and parent company Disney to sue the agency in August on First Amendment grounds, calling the review an "existential threat." Carr has also opened separate investigations into CBS News and NBC News.