Fact Check: Claims of Media Suppression and Trump Retaliation Allegations

We have a predictable, albeit dangerous update here that actually concerns me specifically. The White House has

officially added me to a short list of what they're calling quote media offenders alongside other independent

creator David Pacman. Now, I don't know what they plan on doing with this list, but I can tell you what they've done

with other lists. Donald Trump has engaged in a retribution tour against his other perceived enemies which

includes Leticia James, Adam Schiff, James Comey, John Bolton, Tim Walls, Jacob Fry, Mark Kelly, Alyssa Slotkin,

and news outlets including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, ABC, CBS, Disney, and the Washington Post,

just to name a few. Which leads me to believe that they've now moved on to the next iteration of their plan, going

after content creators. Now, first of all, I think it's worth noting the irony of a political movement that beat its

chest about free speech for the last four years now creating lists of people with dissenting opinions. These people

are so fragile, so delicate, such little that they are now going after content creators and comedians for doing

stuff like telling jokes that offend their that offend their frail sensibilities. And what's worse, they

are using the federal government to do it. In fact, you don't even have to guess as much because Donald Trump is so

ham-handed himself that he comes out and just admits it. This is what he said immediately upon the FCC going after

Kimmel. >> That's something that should be talked about to licensing, too. When you have a

network and you have evening shows and all they do is hit Trump. That's all they do. If you go back, I guess they

haven't had a conservative on in years or something. when he said, >> "When you go back and you take a look,

all they do is inter license. They're not allowed to do that. They're an arm of the Democrat party."

>> In other words, it wasn't about Kimmel's comments, which by the way were completely innocuous, but rather that

Trump has a broader agenda of suppressing any coverage critical of Trump. Quote, "All they do is hit

Trump." This is about heaping praise onto an aspiring autocrat, all because he's too fragile to shoulder any

criticism. And this has become a recurring theme. Trump also got Steven Colbear canceled by leaning on CBS as

their parent company Paramount was seeking a merger with Sky Dance. He sued ABC News, which settled. Sued 60

Minutes, which settled. Installed Barry Weiss, by the way, who gutted the staff, including Scott P just this week. Sued

Meta, which settled. He is currently suing the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Simon and Schuster. He

barred the AP from the press briefing room. He even borrowed the Australian broadcasting company from his UK press

conference a few months back because the reporter dared ask a critical question of him. Anyone who touted Trump or his

MAGA movement as some champions of free speech is either a liar or a fool. In fact, it's not just Trump who is too

ham-handed to understand how not to confess to the reality of what's happening here. His FCC chairman,

Brendan Carr, has been beyond overt in giving the whole game away. This is what he said just prior to Kimmel's

cancellation a few months back. >> But frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, look, we can do this the

easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action, frankly, uh, on

Kimmel or, you know, there's going to be additional work for the FCC. Again, there's actions that we can take on

licensed broadcasters. And frankly, I think that it's it's it's really sort of past time that a lot of these licensed

broadcasters themselves push back on Comcast and Disney and say, "Listen, we are going to preempt we are not going to

run Kimmel anymore until you straighten this out because we we licensed broadcaster are running the possibility

of fines or license revocation from the FCC if we continue to run content that ends up being a pattern of news

distortion." >> Think about that language for a second. We can do this the easy way or the hard

way. That's not regulatory oversight. That is extortion. That is a federal official threatening a media company

with government retaliation unless they silence a critic of the president, a comedian. And that's exactly what ABC

did. Which raises the question, is this even constitutional? And the answer is absolutely not. Just last year, this

Supreme Court ruled 9 to nothing that quote government officials cannot attempt to coers private parties in

order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors. That is a ruling wherein everyone from Clarence

Thomas and Samuel Alo agreed with Soda Sonia Mayor and Katanji Brown Jackson. When you've got the White House

running to the far right of the US Supreme Court, you might have lost the plot. But let's be clear here. While

Trump is a desperate and his acolytes like Brendan Carr are some of the most vile human beings to ever ascend to the

highest ranks of the US government and they deserve all the scorn in the world for their horrific behavior. This

administration would not feel as emboldened as they do without the cooperation by these corporations that

are so focused on money and shareholder value that they will sacrifice everything in pursuit of it.

Let's not forget the backstory behind the Kimmel cancellation attempt. Next media group is the largest provider of

local news in the country. They operate ABC affiliate stations in dozens of markets across the US. Next was seeking

FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with a company called Tegna. At the same time, you've got the federal government

demanding a ransom for everything and making it perfectly clear where they stand on these late night hosts who dare

criticize Dear Leader. Trump himself literally posted on Sushu's social, quote, I absolutely love that Colbear

got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. And guess what? That is exactly

what happened. And because these companies like NextStar and ABC and CBS and Paramount, Washington Post and Meta

are all so overleveraged and so desperate to grab more cash, they continue to capitulate to Trump. And the

cost of that is that we all are less safe because we all now live in a country where the president feels

emboldened to commit more of these acts. ABC's decision to even temporarily pull Kimmel show doesn't just hurt Kimmel. It

gives Trump cart blanch to feel that his autocratic behavior is acceptable. CBS's decision to cancel Cobar show doesn't

just hurt Coar. It gives Trump the sense that he can pull these stunts even more with impunity. That hurts all of us.

These outlets desperate to curry favor with the God King are hurting all of us. All because they need another buck.

Because God forbid they didn't focus solely on more money, more growth, more shareholder value. God forbid. So, look,

again, I'm not surprised that it's looking like I and other creators are next on Trump's list. But I can promise

you one thing for my part. I will never stop speaking out. I'm not owned by some money grubbing corporate entity that

needs something from the federal government. I am 100% independent. And independent media clearly has never been

more important. That's why they're working so hard to silence our voices. So, look, if you would like to support

my work, I'll ask for one thing right now. Um, I have a book coming out in just a few weeks. The single best way to

support me, if you can, is to pre-order my book titled The Day After. It is a blueprint for how Democrats can and must

fight back against this aspiring autocrat. Maybe that's why Trump is targeting me because I try to be

cleareyed about how to relegate his movement to the dust bin of history forever. I'm going to put a link to

pre-order that book right here on the screen and in the post description and in the comments. Or you can go to

brianylcohen.com/book. I'll also be on tour in mid July. You can grab tour tickets at that same link.

and I would love to see you in person. Please help elevate my message in this ecosystem as we work together to ensure

that the US never experiences anyone like Trump again. And I hope that the rest of the media outlets understand

that by capitulating to Trump, you are not placating him. You are just showing him that you're weak. You are showing

him that you can be extorted. You're showing him that if and when he wants to do this again, that he'll be able to do

it without a problem. I said this months ago and I'll say it again right now. Trump is never going to stop trying to

silence the voices that are rightfully calling him out. He won't stop with me. Just like he wasn't stopping with

Kimmel, just like he wasn't stopping with Colbear. Just like he wasn't stopping with ABC News and CBS and the

New York Times and 60 Minutes. All of these cowardly media conglomerates are not understanding that you do not buy

Trump off. You buy yourself a little bit of time. That's it. And eventually he'll come back because he knows that you're

weak and you stand for nothing. And the only thing more pathetic than bowing down to this thin-kinned autocrat is

everybody's collective inability to recognize that he will never be satisfied. Donald Trump is basically a

shark preying on you. And you cut off your arm to feed it to him. Eventually, he comes back for the next arm, then

your legs, then your body. And where did that leave you? That grand bargain, it left you with nothing. Pray to a

predator who smelled blood in the water because you were too stupid to protect yourself when you had the chance. So, my

advice to the rest of the media, wake the up. Recognize the moment we're in. And for sake, stand for

something. Stand for anything. Anything that isn't money, because all the money in the world isn't worth a thing when

what you're left selling is a product no one believes in. In the meantime, please know that I will never stop. I will

never be quiet. I will never stop holding these people to account. I have dedicated my life to this cause, and

watching this administration target me has only made me redouble my efforts. I promise you that I will stop at nothing

to ensure that these people are never near the levers of power again. And I hope that you'll fight this fight

alongside me. Before you go, I'm very excited to announce that I've written a new book

titled The Day After: How to Wield Power in a PostTrump World. The book explores what is, in my opinion, the single most

important theme that we're dealing with in politics today and moving forward. Power. Specifically, how Republicans

abuse it and how Democrats refuse to wield it. This book explains how we got here and more importantly how we should

finally wield power if we're fortunate enough to get it back. It is the blueprint for progressives who want to

do far more than just restore the status quo. Please pre-order today by visiting the link in the episode description or

go to brianylcocken.com/book. You can grab yours from any of the major retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble

or find an independent bookstore closest to you that's also listed on that website. Thanks so much for supporting

Independent Media.