Welcome to this week’s ‘Ragebait.’
Justin Baragona here, a few days early due to Zeteo’s upcoming coverage of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. In this special edition, we take an in-depth look at Brendan Carr, Trump’s chief “attack dog” in the president’s escalating war against the media. Plus, make sure to check out our supercut of cable news’ most deranged comments about Hasan Piker below.
Brendan Carr, Trump’s Hypocritical Media ‘Attack Dog’
Leaning hard into the core libertarian ideals of personal liberty and press freedom, Brendan Carr – who now serves as Donald Trump’s chief censor – delivered the following quote less than three years ago: “Free speech is the counterweight – it is the check on government control. That is why censorship is the authoritarian’s dream.”
Contrast that with Trump’s threat a week ago to report NBC News anchor Kristen Welker to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – where Carr serves as chairman – for a “rebuke or punishment” because Welker had the audacity to say that Trump has had “some mixed results” with his primary candidate endorsements.
Trump then expressed hope that Carr “will take this Threat to our Country very seriously,” following that up with another Truth Social post demanding sanctions against media outlets for reporting on polls that show his low approval rating. “FCC TO THE RESCUE!” Trump exclaimed.
“I think President Trump is over the target, and we’re looking at a lot of actions,” Carr told Fox News yesterday, claiming that “so many broadcasters right now, they want to break the deal that they cut with the American people.”
Since Trump appointed him as his chief media “attack dog” following the 2024 presidential election, Carr has pretty much done what the president has commanded in his multi-front war against the press. And, along the way, Carr has thrown away all his self-professed principles regarding free speech, instead revealing himself as a craven bootlicker who will wield the power of the state against the media to satisfy his authoritarian master.