Dictator Trump once again let out his inner fascist today at a rally in New Hampshire, saying CNN and NBC should “have their licenses taken away” for not airing his victory speech last night.
“NBC and CNN refused to air my victory speech,” the sore winner said to a crowd of booing devotees. “Because they are crooked, they’re dishonest, and frankly, they should have their licenses taken away.” (See first video below, posted by Aaron Rupar.)
Although Trump was wrong about CNN, who did air his rambling speech (although they cut into it around the 10-minute mark for commentary), MSNBC made a point of keeping his speech off the air.
As Rachel Maddow explained: “The projected winner of the Iowa caucuses has just started giving his victory speech. We will keep an eye on that as it happens, we will let you know if there’s any news made in that speech, if there’s anything noteworthy, something substantive and important. The reason I’m saying this is, of course there’s a reason we and other news organizations have stopped giving an unfiltered live platform to remarks by former President Trump.”
“It is not out of spite,” Maddow continued. “It is not a decision that we relish. It is a decision that we regularly revisit, and honestly, earnestly, it is not an easy decision. But there is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things.”
“So his remarks tonight will not air here live,” she concluded. (See second video below, posted by Mike Sington.)
This wasn’t the first time Trump — known for repeatedly framing journalists as the “enemy of the people” — has called for the licenses of television networks to be “challenged” and “revoked.” And if the thin-skinned MAGA boss has anything to say about it, which he will, it won’t be the last.
