‘A Pretty Bad Case of TDS!’ FCC Chair Brendan Carr Mocks Predecessors Who Condemned His Media Crackdown
(Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr hit back at three of his predecessors accusing them of “partisan” bias and “Trump Derangement Syndrome” over their collective condemnation of his media crackdown.
Since taking up his new role, Carr has spearheaded probes into Comcast, PBS, NPR, and Audacy, challenging so-called ‘woke’ corporate policies and alleged media bias.
Now, however, his moves have drawn sharp rebukes from three former FCC chairs spanning both Democratic and Republican administrations, who accuse him of weaponizing the agency against the free press.
Speaking to Status founder Oliver Darcy, Tom Wheeler, who served as FCC chair under Barack Obama, Reed Hundt who worked under Bill Clinton and the Bush administration chair Alfred Sikes all slammed Carr’s actions.
Wheeler drew attention to Carr’s investigation into Comcast’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as his “breaking point” while Hundt warned targeting of PBS and NPR lacks credible justification and could be “an impingement on the First Amendment.”
Sikes echoed that idea and told Darcy: “The First Amendment is foundational. It should be foundational not just in the Constitution, but in the way the FCC acts.”
Rather than directly address the criticism, Carr took to text to brush off his predecessors concerns when Darcy presented them to him.
“Lol. Just three?” he initially replied.
After following up with a GIF he finally sent Darcy a lengthy statement, published in full on his newsletter, mocking the journalist for what he said “isn’t exactly a man bites dog level scoop.”
Continuing, Carr defiantly carved up his predecessors for their own conduct and “yearning for one more moment in the limelight” by attacking him.
I do feel bad for the three of them, though. I gotta imagine it’s hard when the curtain is closing on your career and yet you’re still yearning for one more moment in the limelight. I’m glad that you’re helping them out by getting their names in print again.
Of those three, I’ve only ever met Tom Wheeler. If I met the other two, I have no memory of it. I actually like Tom, and I have really enjoyed our meetings over the years. I hope to connect with him again soon. Tom worked alongside my father early in their careers. Tom set a hard charging, if partisan, agenda at the FCC and ignored the bed wetters. There’s some things he did that I respect.
But ultimately, President Obama ended up strong arming Tom and forced him to turn the FCC’s decision-making authority over to Obama’s backers at Google — Title II being the most notable example of where Obama flipped Tom. Was never the same after that. Pretty sad actually.
With respect to your question, it does not surprise me in the least that they disagree with the current FCC’s agenda. Two of them were President Obama’s and President Clinton’s FCC Chairs and, while I’m not a doctor, all three of them appear to have a pretty bad case of TDS. But hey, “Former government officials with TDS oppose current FCC” isn’t exactly a man bites dog level scoop. So I get that you have to work with what you have.
In any event, all three of them have either called on the FCC to revoke Fox’s FCC license, pushed for the FCC to take Elon Musk’s Starlink licenses away from him, cheered on Big Tech’s decision to censor President Trump, or all three of those!
In other words, these three are not objective observers—they’re just partisans that are mad the Biden FCC didn’t do more to punish their political enemies. In contrast to them, though, I will ensure that everyone gets a fair shake from this FCC.
