September 19, 2025 • 33 mins
Donald Trump and his handpicked FCC chair, Brendan Carr, just made satire a crime. After punishing ABC and Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show getting pulled off-air, America is staring down the barrel of state-run media where free speech is no longer protected, jokes are illegal, and satire is treated as sedition. This episode dives into Trump’s FCC censorship crackdown, the chilling rise of state-controlled news, and what it means when a president can silence critics with the stroke of a pen. From the death of late-night comedy to the birth of authoritarian propaganda, Rick Wilson unpacks how Trump’s fragile ego and lust for power are reshaping American media into his own personal megaphone.
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Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.
Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference.
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Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.
Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference.
Visit expressvpn.com/lincolnproject for an exclusive offer for our listeners.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy
is well trained well, but.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Think about heart is not a liberal America and is
conservative of America.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
The United States of America.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Good luck.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Hey, folks, thanks for joining me on Lincoln Square for
the Elephant in the Room. This is our weekly podcast
where I try to peel back a little bit about
what's going on in the world and talk to you
about the political underpinnings of the stories that are shaping
the world. America is in a terminal stage of the republic.
(00:40):
It's not too late to stop it, but we are
in deep water. We now have, based on the excuse
of the Charlie Kirk killing, the Trump administration expanding its
power over every bit of the media that it can.
The FCC is come an adjunct to this enormously corrupt
(01:03):
and anti American scheme, and folks, I got to be
really straight with you. The firing of Jimmy Kimmele, the
warning shots across the bow of the View and of
every other news operation in this country right now aren't
warning shots anymore. They're full on attacks. I want to
(01:26):
say this very clearly because I want people to understand
what we're dealing with. Now you are now in a
country where comedians cannot make jokes that upset Donald Trump.
We now have in a country where comedians cannot do comedy.
Why It's because fascism is always, always, always, most deeply
(01:51):
affected by two things. Ridicule is the first and confrontation
is the second. Look, we all know that Donald Trump
is a whiny bully, a little He's the biggest snowflake
in the world. He's a whining bitch. He has always
hated the media because they have always seen him for
(02:12):
what he is. He's contemptuous, he's a huckster. He's a
con artist. He's a criminal. He's a fraud. He's a fake.
If you ever had imposter syndrome in your whole life,
Donald Trump should cure that because he is the worst
possible person to be in the Oval office. But the
people around him, just like people underestimated Russ Vaught. They thought, Oh,
(02:37):
he's just a bureaucraft from the Heritage Foundation, Oh, what
could go wrong? Well, he could run Project twenty twenty five.
Who wrote the piece about the media for Project twenty
twenty five? It was Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chair.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show just hours after the Federal
Communications Commissioned Chairman Brendan Carr called his comment on Charlie
Kirk's assassination truly.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
Sick by Jimmy Kimmel to play into that narrative that
this was a MAGA or Republican motivated person.
Speaker 6 (03:10):
It is really really sick.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
So who is Brendan Carr. He's a longtime a FCC commissioner,
first joining the agency in twenty twelve, he served as
the FCC's General counsul, and Trump named him as chairman
last year in November. The FCC regulates broadcasting, telecommunication, and broadband,
essentially overseeing what goes on America's airwaves. Since becoming chair
the CAR has leaned into Trump's idea about the media
(03:34):
and tech. He helped write a section on the FCC
in Project twenty twenty five, a conservative plan to reshape
the federal government. He has also opened investigations into ABC, CBS,
and NBC, questioning whether they are serving the public interest.
Democrats have pushed back, calling Car's action censorship and part
of a broader Republican effort to wage a war on
(03:55):
the First Amendment.
Speaker 6 (03:56):
This censorship. Both Kimmel flies in the face of the
First Amendment free expression.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
And folks, it's important to understand that the reason Disney
and the reason Next Star and Seclaire are doing this.
Speaker 7 (04:13):
ABC most recently, as you say, has come out and
confirmed that they are preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live indefinitely is
the word that is used. So no plans at this
point to have Jimmy Kimmelive back on the air. It
comes after the affiliate to station earlier today, one of
the ABC affiliate stations had said that it was going
(04:35):
to individually not be broadcasting Jimmy Kimmel Live. And that
has been a bit of dominant effect here.
Speaker 8 (04:40):
But that comes after the FCC chair on a podcast
earlier today had suggested that the Federal Broadcast Regulator, that's
what the FCC is, would or could revoke ABC affiliate
licenses as a way to ultimately punish Disney Disney being
the parent company of ABC.
Speaker 6 (04:59):
So, Jimmy kim you.
Speaker 9 (05:00):
Have an incredibly prominent late night talk show hosts in
the United States on the ABC network. The FCC chair
on a podcast that CNN is describing as far right,
makes comments about how what Jimmy Kimmel said was inappropriate,
And now you have this company that owns a bunch
of ABC affiliates saying we don't want to play this,
(05:22):
and Disney pulls it next.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Stories to clear are just symptoms. They are the gigantic
right wing media call conglomerates that own hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of television stations across the country, hundreds. If
you're wondering why your MAGA friends are all on the
same talking points, there are a lot of clip reels
out there of the Sinclair folks who go online, go
(05:44):
in the air every morning, and they read the same
exact script. Whether it is in Poughkeepsie, New York, or Palaka, Florida,
or East ascrac Arizona, they read the same script.
Speaker 10 (05:56):
Hi, I'm Fox, San Antonio's Jessica Hedley, and I'm Ryan Wolf.
Speaker 11 (06:00):
Our greatest responsibility is to serve our treasure.
Speaker 8 (06:03):
Valley communities, deal pass to LUs Crucis communities, Eastern Iowa communities,
Mid Michigan communities.
Speaker 12 (06:08):
We are extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that
CITs four News produces.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
But we are.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Sti country plaguing our country the.
Speaker 10 (06:21):
Sharing of biased and false news has become all too
common on social media. More alarming, some media outlets publish
the same fake stories without checking facts first.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
The sharing of biased.
Speaker 6 (06:33):
And false news has become all too common on without
checking first.
Speaker 11 (06:44):
Unfortunately, their platforms to push their own control exactly, and
this is extremely dangerous democracy.
Speaker 6 (06:56):
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.
Speaker 13 (06:58):
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.
Speaker 10 (07:03):
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Those people are ideologically motivated. It's then clear out saying
that Jimmy Kimmel will not be back unless he apologizes
and gives money to O. The Kirk Family fuck off
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(07:26):
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(07:50):
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you should too. But Sinclair and Nextstar are just a
septum what's happening at the corporate level with Disney right
now and Bob Iger, who was one somebody that I
think almost everybody universally admired as a CEO and as
(10:04):
a corporate leader, has decided that it's not worth fighting
with Donald Trump over.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I think a lot of journalists should should focus in
on Bob Iger at ABC, someone who owns who is
running Disney. This will be a real tarnish on his reputation,
someone I admire very much, But in this case, it's
it's really astonishing that executives like him are bending a knee.
And that's precisely beas there are being silent about this.
He needs to explain himself or or at least in
(10:33):
a much more full way.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
Probably next is NBC.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Certainly, you know CNN is under the crosshairs, would be
my guess. And obviously there's been some discussion about Paramount
and Larry Ellison, who's going to get control of TikTok
also buying Warner. You know, this is a consolidation of
Trump leaning owners also, and that's that'll have some impact.
These people can do whatever they want with these private companies.
(11:00):
And again, this is an autocrats playbook of controlling the media,
or at least bringing it into line with the administration.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
And since Disney owns all these outlets, ABC in particular
in this case, they've decided they're going to bend the knee. Now,
a few months ago I warned ABC Disney that when
they settled the Stephanopolis lawsuit, which they did not need
(11:31):
to settle, that the alligator would come back hungrier than ever.
Speaker 13 (11:36):
A bombshell settlement and President Elect Trump's defamation suit against
ABC newsdors.
Speaker 14 (11:41):
Donald Trump for President, Judges and two separate juries have
found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim
of that rape.
Speaker 13 (11:49):
The lawsuit stemming from this March interview by anchor George Stephanopolis,
where he grilled South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a survivor
of rape, on how she could support Trump, asking you a.
Speaker 14 (12:01):
Very simple question and.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
My political choice.
Speaker 14 (12:04):
I'm asking you a question about why you endorse someone
who's been found liable for rape.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
It was not a criminal court.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
This was.
Speaker 13 (12:13):
Stefanopolis falsely saying Trump was liable for rape more than
ten times over the course of the interview.
Speaker 14 (12:19):
It has been shown to be raped. The judge affirmed
that it was, in fact rape. Donald Trump was found
to have committed rape.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
That's just a fact.
Speaker 13 (12:28):
In fact, the jury in the e Gen Carroll case
found Trump liable for sexual abuse and explicitly not for rape.
Mister Trump sued, claiming that Stephanopolis and the network knew
or should have known, the statement was false. His lawyers
citing this interview Stephanopolis did with Carol months earlier.
Speaker 14 (12:46):
The first announcement was made, and it was that he
was not found liable for rape.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
What were we thinking of that?
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Moment Robbie and I were sitting together with holding hands.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Her hand was ice.
Speaker 13 (12:58):
Cold, complicating the dis The judge and the Carroll case
clarified in a written opinion that New York's definition of
the term rape is narrow and that the jury's finding
quote does not mean that she failed to prove mister
Trump raped her as many people commonly understand the word rape.
The jury found that mister Trump, in fact did exactly that.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
It was against my will, and it hurt, and it
was a fight.
Speaker 13 (13:24):
Carol alleged Trump assaulted her in a Manhattan department store
in the mid nineties. Trump is appealing two jury verdicts
ordering him to pay Carrol nearly ninety million dollars. In
the settlement, ABC agreeing to donate fifteen million dollars to
Trump's presidential library, pay one million dollars to his legal team,
and add a statement to their article on the interview
(13:46):
reading ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President
Donald J. Trump made during the interview. In a statement,
the network saying we are pleased that the parties have
reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms
in the court filing. The deal widely seen is a
win for President elect Trump, who has made attacking the
news media part of his political brand for years.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
We have to straighten out the press.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Our press is very corrupt, almost as corrupt as our elections.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Here's what happens, folks, when you give in to a bully,
when you give in to a thug, when you give
in to an extortionist, you don't go away. They come back.
When the time they come back, the second time they
come back, they said, well, you know what you gave
us X last time, that you give us five more.
(14:35):
Now what don't you give us five times what you
gave us last time? The extortions never stops. So what
you will see now spreading through all these properties that
Disney owns, and there's a lot of media properties, you
will see them getting on message with Trump because Bob
(14:56):
Eiger has decided that he is too chicken shit to
stand up to Brendan Carr. Bob Iger has decided he
will burn down his reputation, that he will go down
in history as complicit in the censorship regime that Brendan
Carr and Doald Trump have been in place. Now, look,
(15:18):
Brendan carr as the FCC chair, has actually triggered a
lot of conservatives and maga types who are nervous about this.
They understand what happens next, and I want to lay
that out for you for a moment with the elephant,
because the problem with fighting a fascist regime, the problem
(15:41):
with fighting a new iteration of fascism in this country
is it's not going to go away easily. You don't
just hit it with round up and it withers away
and goes off. It's going to try to come back
again and again and again. It's not enough to beat
it electorally. We have to beat it at the ballot. Bods.
(16:03):
Of course, we have to win the house back folks
on the top of the the one a second, but
you also have to take the tactics that they've used
and understand that they opened the box, they opened the window,
they opened this Pandora's box. And some of these maga
(16:26):
conservatives actually get this, They actually understand this. The troll
types they don't care, they love it. But the folks
who understand that someday Trump won't be president and sub
day Advance won't be president, they see what the future
(16:47):
could hold. I think this is a powerful lesson for democratics.
These people will come back again and they will try
to kill you politically. These the people who said armed
terrorists to the Capitol of January sixth to kill you.
Speaker 15 (17:11):
Chaos at the heart of America's democracy, unleashed by the President.
Donald Trump's supporters smashed their way into the US Congress,
furious over President Trump's November defeat, certain he was cheated,
(17:34):
and told they can reverse the result.
Speaker 6 (17:37):
They work for us.
Speaker 16 (17:39):
They don't get to steal it from us. We respect
the law.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
We were good people. The government did this to us.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
We were normal, good law abiding citizens, and you.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Guys did this to us. Wait what our country back.
Speaker 15 (17:51):
Hundreds overrun security in the famous rotunda. Poor police try
to fight off any further incursions, and lawmakers grab gas masks,
making a hasty retreat from the chamber.
Speaker 14 (18:10):
We were just told that there has been here gas
in the rotunda, and we're being instructed to each of us.
Speaker 6 (18:19):
Get a gas masks.
Speaker 15 (18:21):
America's leading politicians led into hiding and left to comfort
one another, unsure what was happening.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
It is time for democrats to lay out what happens
next now. Eric Swaball did a great job. He threw
it out there today to the car and others. Better
save your documents, you better save your emails, because when
we went back the House, you guys are going to
be sitting in the Oversight Committee.
Speaker 16 (18:48):
So I want to make it clear there's going to
be a democratic majority in just over a year. And
to the FCC chairperson and anyone involved in these dirty deals,
get a lawyer and save your record, because you're going
to be in this room and you're gonna be answering
questions about the deals that you struck and who benefited
and what the cost was to the American people because
(19:10):
that happened.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
Disney did this for money.
Speaker 15 (19:14):
The country.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
That has given the Disney Company the freedom and the
prosperity that it has marked its one hundred year career
now is only possible because of America and Disney and
Bob Igert decided today was the day that they were
going to say, yeah, thanks for all the thanks for
(19:39):
all the freedom, but we have chosen fascism instead. We've
chosen to placate the regime. Instead, we've chosen to bow
down to Donald Trump instead. This is an epidemic in
corporate America right now some of the most powerful leaders
in the world's economy. And that means it's Mark Zuckerberg
(20:00):
and Larry Ellison and Jensen Wang and Tim Cook and
god forbid, Elon Musk. They have all been to need
a Trump for a reason, and it's economic. They believe
they can get favorable regulatory treatment from Trump if they
just do what he wants. They believe they can get
(20:25):
AI without regulation. They believe they can get the oil
and gas folks believe they can get zero regulation on
exploration and exploitation. All these folks believe that Donald Trump
is for sale, and sometimes he is. But here's what's happening,
(20:48):
and these guys don't understand it. Again, there's a pernicious
ideological movement inside of this administration. You have to set
aside Donald Trump for a second. Set aside this goofy
absurdity in Donald Trump. That absurdity makes you think he's
(21:11):
less serious or less dangerous sometimes. But the Russell Voughts
and the Brendan Carrs and the JD. Vances and the
Marco Rubios and the Stephen Millers, they understand that power
isn't real unless you use it. So the Democrats need
(21:35):
to begin to understand that when they take back the
House in Sheella, the exercise of power is required. And
I will promise you what's going to happen in the
next few weeks. By the way, lobbyists will go to
Democratic senators and House members with a check, not a
(21:58):
big check, not as much as there were publican counterparts
to get who They'll get a check from next door
or from Sinclair, or from Disney, any of the vast
Disney array of comboos, and their lobbyists will say, hey, listen,
you know they're just doing doing what they got to do. Man,
(22:18):
Just just you know, let us give us, give us
a breather on this winning. We're doing what we got
to do for my Democratic friends. I hope that when
those people come to you with that money, you will
look them square in the face and say, get out
of my office now leave, never return. You welcome fear,
(22:46):
because if you take that money, the old Washington game begins.
Take that money from Sinclair or from Disney or boomever.
You're compromised at that point. And Trump and his people
will say, oh, well so and so it's criticizer Disney.
But they took their money. Do not take the bait
(23:07):
or the money. When when that moment comes, you need
to understand that they are there because they believe that
a democracy doesn't function any longer and they're in a
kleptocracy and you can be bought. Don't be bought. What
democrats must do when they retake the house again in Shilah,
(23:31):
I want Bob Iger in that chair in oversight, not
for a little bit, but for days. You want to
ensure that you're getting every email, every phone record, You're
going through their books with the fun and tooth comb
because all of these people that are bending the knee
(23:52):
are doing it because they want regulatory favorability. They want
their deals to be approved, they want their mergers to
go forward. CBS is getting a political commissar installed processes.
In your mind again, CBS is having a political commissar
who was approved by the Trump administration installed in CBS
(24:16):
to monitor their bias.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Now, listen, you know, if you step back, what's happening
here is you know, I think President Trump is fundamentally
reshaping the media landscape.
Speaker 6 (24:25):
And the way he's doing that is when he ran
for election.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
He ran directly at these legacy broadcast media outlets ABC,
NBCCBS for years. You know, government officials just allowed those
entities with execs sitting in Hollywood in New York to
dictate the political narrative.
Speaker 6 (24:42):
And he has fundamentally changed the game.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
And you see that really having consequences that are just
rushing all through media. The thing that was really important
to me in all of this was that the new
owners of CBS came in and said it's time for
a change. We're going to reoriented towards getting rid of
bias to looking at fact based reporting. They said they're
going to get rid of in vidious forms of dei discrimination.
Speaker 6 (25:04):
At the end of the day, that's what made the
difference for us in terms of our review at the agency.
Speaker 12 (25:09):
Yeah, and so again, when Anagomez writes you're imposing never
before seen controls over newsroom decisions and editorial judgment and
direct violation to the First Amendment, you say, what, I think, it's.
Speaker 6 (25:20):
Signed for a change.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
And the procedures that we put in place in this
deal have lots of precedent.
Speaker 6 (25:26):
For instance, there's been on Boodsman's put in place.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
By the STC before we're putting a biased on Bodsman
in place.
Speaker 6 (25:31):
Here, we're addressing DEI.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
The prior SCC during the Biden years put pro DEI
commitments in different transactions, and so we're unwinding that type
of approach and we're frankly taking a trust but verify
perspective here. I think this could do go a long
way to restoring America's trust in media. And again, the
media itself, I think has undermined itself over these last
couple of years. When you look at the stuff that
(25:54):
Colbert is doing, the idea that you know a partisan
carnival makes economic sense.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
These are business decisions at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
And again I think it goes back to President Trump
because this facade of gatekeeper legitimacy that was conferred on
these outlets as going away and we're just seeing a
lot of Domino's fall as a result of that.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
If you think that's normal, first off, you're not a conservative.
I think that's American. You have never read the Constitution.
And if you think that won't spread like a cancer,
you're out of your grand mind, folks. And again I'm
addressing this to my Democratic friends. Right now, there's a
(26:34):
game being played that is for all the marbles and
when you take back power, I think show up. If
you don't skip the obvious bait and go after the
vulnerable bait, you are making a mistake. Do not start
(26:55):
impeachment hearings against Donald Trump. It doesn't do any good.
Do drag the CEOs of Next Star, Do drag the
CEOs of Sinclair, Do drag every senior advisor and senior
member of the board at Disney. All of these things
(27:17):
are a form of political combat that you are generally
loath to engage. And I get it, but you must.
You absolutely must. This next year and a half, as
we enter into the campaign season of twenty twenty six
and the immediate aftermath of the election is going to
(27:37):
be incredibly painful. It is going to be dangerous. That
Trump administration now understands they are unconstrained by their own party,
they're unconstrained by the Supreme Court, they're constrained by the
lower courts. They're going to go for it all. We're
in the late stages of this republic. It is not
(27:58):
past saving, but this move today that takes the most
fundamental right that the founders set first and foremost in
the Constitution and they've now turned it into a weapon
to silence, to set comedians can't make jokes. Very soon,
(28:18):
you will see Brendan Carr saying, oh, that story wasn't
covered properly. You will see Brendan Carr saying, oh, that
reporter was a nice to the president. You will see
Brendan Carr saying, well, we're going to take away the
broadcast license of this or that networker station because we
felt like you didn't take our talking points. And folks,
(28:42):
please believe me when I tell you they have no shame.
They will not stop this until they are stopped. The
end of this republic will come when a comedian can't
make a joke about a president. The end of this
republic will come when a reporter says, you know what,
(29:03):
I don't want to write this story because I might
get arrested. The cancel culture on the right that they
have built up since the Charlie Kirk assassination is quite astounding,
and they're getting away with it right now. There are
some practical things you can do as an American and
as a consumer. Disney is still a company. Stop subscribing
(29:27):
to their product. We quit Disney Plus tonight. Sorry, I'd
find and Or somewhere else. I guess ironic that and Or,
the single show that has the most compelling understanding of
the political moment in this country is a product of
the same company that is doing everything that they can
(29:50):
by firing Jimmy Kimmel for making jokes the President didn't like.
So ironic, it's astoundingly dark ironic. There are things you
can do. You can vote with your wallet. Again, we
canceled our Disney Plus tonight. If you really want to
(30:12):
hurt them where the money gets made, folks, cancel that subscription.
Do not go to their parks. Just don't you know what.
They're expensive and overrated these days. Anyway, They're kind of
an awful experience now for most people. As you're going
to pay thousands of extra dollars, just don't go. Stop
buying the merch break the spell. You know that the
(30:36):
mouse the house the mouse built. This is incredibly powerful organization.
They did not have to do this, but they chose
to do it so they can then continue to expand
and do these mergers and do these buy it these
acquisitions and everything else. And Bob Iger, who again was
(30:57):
a guy with a sterling business, reputation, a guy who
people considered one of the good guys in corporate America,
a guy who stood up when Ron DeSantis was saying, Oh,
you can't have any LGBT materials in your parks for
in your corporate materials. Basically beat the Santas down on it,
(31:19):
basically won the bout. If you believe as a corporate
CEO that the only thing that matters is your quarterly
report and shareholder value, when you know what you're doing
is anathema to an American constitutional system that puts the
freedom of speech at the very highest pinnacle, then you
(31:42):
are missing the elephant in the room. Hey, folks, thanks
for listening to the elephant in the room. This is
our little mini podcast once a week on Fridays. Hope
you'll catch me on our streaming shows Strategy Session on
Tuesday nights, Breakdown on Thursday Nights Behind the Numbers with
the Wilson's on Fridays, and check out my podcast at
the Lincoln Project Podcast and the Enemies List podcast as well.
(32:04):
You can also check out that trippy show Punching Up
with Miam. We've got a whole bunch of stuff coming
out of Lincoln Square we're expanding so rapidly. We really
appreciate all the support and all the love folks are sent.
And if you could go on our YouTube channel, do
the like, subscribe, click the bell. All those things feed
the mighty maw of the algorithm. Anyway, I appreciate you all.
Keep fighting, stay in this fight. Let Disney know your pissed.
(32:28):
Let Disney know this is this ain't working, this ain't it? Chief?
All right, folks, see you that. The Lincoln Project Podcast
is a Lincoln Project production.
Speaker 17 (32:39):
Executive produced by Whitney Hayes, Then Howe and Joey Wertner Cheney,
edited by Riley Maine. Hey, folks, if you want to
support The Lincoln Project's work against Donald Trump, Elon Musk
and this Maga craziness, go to action dot Lincoln Project
dot us slash l LP. You'd like to get in touch,
or have suggestions for a guest or a show topic,
or just want to say hi. Our email is podcast
(33:00):
at Lincoln Project dot us for our Maga friends.
Speaker 4 (33:03):
Please no more nudes. Thanks so much and we'll talk
to you again next time.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
And good black
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy
is well trained well, but.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Think about heart is not a liberal America and is
conservative of America.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
The United States of America.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Good luck.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Hey, folks, thanks for joining me on Lincoln Square for
the Elephant in the Room. This is our weekly podcast
where I try to peel back a little bit about
what's going on in the world and talk to you
about the political underpinnings of the stories that are shaping
the world. America is in a terminal stage of the republic.
(00:40):
It's not too late to stop it, but we are
in deep water. We now have, based on the excuse
of the Charlie Kirk killing, the Trump administration expanding its
power over every bit of the media that it can.
The FCC is come an adjunct to this enormously corrupt
(01:03):
and anti American scheme, and folks, I got to be
really straight with you. The firing of Jimmy Kimmele, the
warning shots across the bow of the View and of
every other news operation in this country right now aren't
warning shots anymore. They're full on attacks. I want to
(01:26):
say this very clearly because I want people to understand
what we're dealing with. Now you are now in a
country where comedians cannot make jokes that upset Donald Trump.
We now have in a country where comedians cannot do comedy.
Why It's because fascism is always, always, always, most deeply
(01:51):
affected by two things. Ridicule is the first and confrontation
is the second. Look, we all know that Donald Trump
is a whiny bully, a little He's the biggest snowflake
in the world. He's a whining bitch. He has always
hated the media because they have always seen him for
(02:12):
what he is. He's contemptuous, he's a huckster. He's a
con artist. He's a criminal. He's a fraud. He's a fake.
If you ever had imposter syndrome in your whole life,
Donald Trump should cure that because he is the worst
possible person to be in the Oval office. But the
people around him, just like people underestimated Russ Vaught. They thought, Oh,
(02:37):
he's just a bureaucraft from the Heritage Foundation, Oh, what
could go wrong? Well, he could run Project twenty twenty five.
Who wrote the piece about the media for Project twenty
twenty five? It was Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chair.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show just hours after the Federal
Communications Commissioned Chairman Brendan Carr called his comment on Charlie
Kirk's assassination truly.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
Sick by Jimmy Kimmel to play into that narrative that
this was a MAGA or Republican motivated person.
Speaker 6 (03:10):
It is really really sick.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
So who is Brendan Carr. He's a longtime a FCC commissioner,
first joining the agency in twenty twelve, he served as
the FCC's General counsul, and Trump named him as chairman
last year in November. The FCC regulates broadcasting, telecommunication, and broadband,
essentially overseeing what goes on America's airwaves. Since becoming chair
the CAR has leaned into Trump's idea about the media
(03:34):
and tech. He helped write a section on the FCC
in Project twenty twenty five, a conservative plan to reshape
the federal government. He has also opened investigations into ABC, CBS,
and NBC, questioning whether they are serving the public interest.
Democrats have pushed back, calling Car's action censorship and part
of a broader Republican effort to wage a war on
(03:55):
the First Amendment.
Speaker 6 (03:56):
This censorship. Both Kimmel flies in the face of the
First Amendment free expression.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
And folks, it's important to understand that the reason Disney
and the reason Next Star and Seclaire are doing this.
Speaker 7 (04:13):
ABC most recently, as you say, has come out and
confirmed that they are preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live indefinitely is
the word that is used. So no plans at this
point to have Jimmy Kimmelive back on the air. It
comes after the affiliate to station earlier today, one of
the ABC affiliate stations had said that it was going
(04:35):
to individually not be broadcasting Jimmy Kimmel Live. And that
has been a bit of dominant effect here.
Speaker 8 (04:40):
But that comes after the FCC chair on a podcast
earlier today had suggested that the Federal Broadcast Regulator, that's
what the FCC is, would or could revoke ABC affiliate
licenses as a way to ultimately punish Disney Disney being
the parent company of ABC.
Speaker 6 (04:59):
So, Jimmy kim you.
Speaker 9 (05:00):
Have an incredibly prominent late night talk show hosts in
the United States on the ABC network. The FCC chair
on a podcast that CNN is describing as far right,
makes comments about how what Jimmy Kimmel said was inappropriate,
And now you have this company that owns a bunch
of ABC affiliates saying we don't want to play this,
(05:22):
and Disney pulls it next.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Stories to clear are just symptoms. They are the gigantic
right wing media call conglomerates that own hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of television stations across the country, hundreds. If
you're wondering why your MAGA friends are all on the
same talking points, there are a lot of clip reels
out there of the Sinclair folks who go online, go
(05:44):
in the air every morning, and they read the same
exact script. Whether it is in Poughkeepsie, New York, or Palaka, Florida,
or East ascrac Arizona, they read the same script.
Speaker 10 (05:56):
Hi, I'm Fox, San Antonio's Jessica Hedley, and I'm Ryan Wolf.
Speaker 11 (06:00):
Our greatest responsibility is to serve our treasure.
Speaker 8 (06:03):
Valley communities, deal pass to LUs Crucis communities, Eastern Iowa communities,
Mid Michigan communities.
Speaker 12 (06:08):
We are extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that
CITs four News produces.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
But we are.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Sti country plaguing our country the.
Speaker 10 (06:21):
Sharing of biased and false news has become all too
common on social media. More alarming, some media outlets publish
the same fake stories without checking facts first.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
The sharing of biased.
Speaker 6 (06:33):
And false news has become all too common on without
checking first.
Speaker 11 (06:44):
Unfortunately, their platforms to push their own control exactly, and
this is extremely dangerous democracy.
Speaker 6 (06:56):
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.
Speaker 13 (06:58):
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.
Speaker 10 (07:03):
This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Those people are ideologically motivated. It's then clear out saying
that Jimmy Kimmel will not be back unless he apologizes
and gives money to O. The Kirk Family fuck off
is the answer. Hey, folks, never use the Internet in
incognito mode. Well, it's probably not as incognito as you think.
(07:26):
Google just had to sell a five billion dollar lawsuit
because they were tracking secretly their own users in incognito mode.
They are excusing court was pretty thin. They said, Oh, well,
incognito doesn't mean invisible, folks. Your online activity is visible
to third parties, from big companies like Google to bad
(07:50):
actors nation states across the world, to hackers and scammers.
Unless you use ExpressVPN. Express BPN has an network of
servers around the world which allows you to block spying
eyes from watching what you're doing online, to keep folks
from monitoring your searches, your activity, your profile. You know, folks.
(08:13):
ExpressVPN is super easy to use. You fire up the app,
one button chanslocation. It works on all your devices, your phone,
your laptop, your iPad, even your smart TV. Speeds are
blazing fast. You can still stream in HD no buffering.
It's treated number one by the top tech reviewers on
the verge, c net and other places and folks. They
(08:34):
also offer dedicated IP services engineered for what they call
zero knowledge design that means not even ExpressVPN can trace
your activity on the web. They've got an encrypted tunnel
system which I don't know what it means, but I
know what it does. It keeps your information secure infy
routing your traffic through unbreakable encryption. I believe in an ExpressVPN.
(08:56):
I use it. ExpressVPN is the kind of service that
is the first step you should take in protecting your
privacy in an era and a moment in our history
where keeping what you do on the Internet private is
more important than ever. We live in a world where
your data is worth something, and too often your data
is worth something the people who don't have your best
interests at heart. That's why ExpressVPN is an important part
(09:18):
of your personal security. Protect your online privacy today by
visiting ExpressVPN dot com slash Lincoln project. That's Express vpn
dot com slash Lincoln Project to find out how you
can get up to four extra months free ExpressVPN dot
com slash Lincoln Project. ExpressVPN protects your personal security. No
(09:41):
one else is going to do it for you, so
get to it. ExpressVPN. I use it, and I think
you should too. But Sinclair and Nextstar are just a
septum what's happening at the corporate level with Disney right
now and Bob Iger, who was one somebody that I
think almost everybody universally admired as a CEO and as
(10:04):
a corporate leader, has decided that it's not worth fighting
with Donald Trump over.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I think a lot of journalists should should focus in
on Bob Iger at ABC, someone who owns who is
running Disney. This will be a real tarnish on his reputation,
someone I admire very much, But in this case, it's
it's really astonishing that executives like him are bending a knee.
And that's precisely beas there are being silent about this.
He needs to explain himself or or at least in
(10:33):
a much more full way.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
Probably next is NBC.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Certainly, you know CNN is under the crosshairs, would be
my guess. And obviously there's been some discussion about Paramount
and Larry Ellison, who's going to get control of TikTok
also buying Warner. You know, this is a consolidation of
Trump leaning owners also, and that's that'll have some impact.
These people can do whatever they want with these private companies.
(11:00):
And again, this is an autocrats playbook of controlling the media,
or at least bringing it into line with the administration.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
And since Disney owns all these outlets, ABC in particular
in this case, they've decided they're going to bend the knee. Now,
a few months ago I warned ABC Disney that when
they settled the Stephanopolis lawsuit, which they did not need
(11:31):
to settle, that the alligator would come back hungrier than ever.
Speaker 13 (11:36):
A bombshell settlement and President Elect Trump's defamation suit against
ABC newsdors.
Speaker 14 (11:41):
Donald Trump for President, Judges and two separate juries have
found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim
of that rape.
Speaker 13 (11:49):
The lawsuit stemming from this March interview by anchor George Stephanopolis,
where he grilled South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a survivor
of rape, on how she could support Trump, asking you a.
Speaker 14 (12:01):
Very simple question and.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
My political choice.
Speaker 14 (12:04):
I'm asking you a question about why you endorse someone
who's been found liable for rape.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
It was not a criminal court.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
This was.
Speaker 13 (12:13):
Stefanopolis falsely saying Trump was liable for rape more than
ten times over the course of the interview.
Speaker 14 (12:19):
It has been shown to be raped. The judge affirmed
that it was, in fact rape. Donald Trump was found
to have committed rape.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
That's just a fact.
Speaker 13 (12:28):
In fact, the jury in the e Gen Carroll case
found Trump liable for sexual abuse and explicitly not for rape.
Mister Trump sued, claiming that Stephanopolis and the network knew
or should have known, the statement was false. His lawyers
citing this interview Stephanopolis did with Carol months earlier.
Speaker 14 (12:46):
The first announcement was made, and it was that he
was not found liable for rape.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
What were we thinking of that?
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Moment Robbie and I were sitting together with holding hands.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Her hand was ice.
Speaker 13 (12:58):
Cold, complicating the dis The judge and the Carroll case
clarified in a written opinion that New York's definition of
the term rape is narrow and that the jury's finding
quote does not mean that she failed to prove mister
Trump raped her as many people commonly understand the word rape.
The jury found that mister Trump, in fact did exactly that.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
It was against my will, and it hurt, and it
was a fight.
Speaker 13 (13:24):
Carol alleged Trump assaulted her in a Manhattan department store
in the mid nineties. Trump is appealing two jury verdicts
ordering him to pay Carrol nearly ninety million dollars. In
the settlement, ABC agreeing to donate fifteen million dollars to
Trump's presidential library, pay one million dollars to his legal team,
and add a statement to their article on the interview
(13:46):
reading ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President
Donald J. Trump made during the interview. In a statement,
the network saying we are pleased that the parties have
reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms
in the court filing. The deal widely seen is a
win for President elect Trump, who has made attacking the
news media part of his political brand for years.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
We have to straighten out the press.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Our press is very corrupt, almost as corrupt as our elections.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Here's what happens, folks, when you give in to a bully,
when you give in to a thug, when you give
in to an extortionist, you don't go away. They come back.
When the time they come back, the second time they
come back, they said, well, you know what you gave
us X last time, that you give us five more.
(14:35):
Now what don't you give us five times what you
gave us last time? The extortions never stops. So what
you will see now spreading through all these properties that
Disney owns, and there's a lot of media properties, you
will see them getting on message with Trump because Bob
(14:56):
Eiger has decided that he is too chicken shit to
stand up to Brendan Carr. Bob Iger has decided he
will burn down his reputation, that he will go down
in history as complicit in the censorship regime that Brendan
Carr and Doald Trump have been in place. Now, look,
(15:18):
Brendan carr as the FCC chair, has actually triggered a
lot of conservatives and maga types who are nervous about this.
They understand what happens next, and I want to lay
that out for you for a moment with the elephant,
because the problem with fighting a fascist regime, the problem
(15:41):
with fighting a new iteration of fascism in this country
is it's not going to go away easily. You don't
just hit it with round up and it withers away
and goes off. It's going to try to come back
again and again and again. It's not enough to beat
it electorally. We have to beat it at the ballot. Bods.
(16:03):
Of course, we have to win the house back folks
on the top of the the one a second, but
you also have to take the tactics that they've used
and understand that they opened the box, they opened the window,
they opened this Pandora's box. And some of these maga
(16:26):
conservatives actually get this, They actually understand this. The troll
types they don't care, they love it. But the folks
who understand that someday Trump won't be president and sub
day Advance won't be president, they see what the future
(16:47):
could hold. I think this is a powerful lesson for democratics.
These people will come back again and they will try
to kill you politically. These the people who said armed
terrorists to the Capitol of January sixth to kill you.
Speaker 15 (17:11):
Chaos at the heart of America's democracy, unleashed by the President.
Donald Trump's supporters smashed their way into the US Congress,
furious over President Trump's November defeat, certain he was cheated,
(17:34):
and told they can reverse the result.
Speaker 6 (17:37):
They work for us.
Speaker 16 (17:39):
They don't get to steal it from us. We respect
the law.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
We were good people. The government did this to us.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
We were normal, good law abiding citizens, and you.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Guys did this to us. Wait what our country back.
Speaker 15 (17:51):
Hundreds overrun security in the famous rotunda. Poor police try
to fight off any further incursions, and lawmakers grab gas masks,
making a hasty retreat from the chamber.
Speaker 14 (18:10):
We were just told that there has been here gas
in the rotunda, and we're being instructed to each of us.
Speaker 6 (18:19):
Get a gas masks.
Speaker 15 (18:21):
America's leading politicians led into hiding and left to comfort
one another, unsure what was happening.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
It is time for democrats to lay out what happens
next now. Eric Swaball did a great job. He threw
it out there today to the car and others. Better
save your documents, you better save your emails, because when
we went back the House, you guys are going to
be sitting in the Oversight Committee.
Speaker 16 (18:48):
So I want to make it clear there's going to
be a democratic majority in just over a year. And
to the FCC chairperson and anyone involved in these dirty deals,
get a lawyer and save your record, because you're going
to be in this room and you're gonna be answering
questions about the deals that you struck and who benefited
and what the cost was to the American people because
(19:10):
that happened.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
Disney did this for money.
Speaker 15 (19:14):
The country.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
That has given the Disney Company the freedom and the
prosperity that it has marked its one hundred year career
now is only possible because of America and Disney and
Bob Igert decided today was the day that they were
going to say, yeah, thanks for all the thanks for
(19:39):
all the freedom, but we have chosen fascism instead. We've
chosen to placate the regime. Instead, we've chosen to bow
down to Donald Trump instead. This is an epidemic in
corporate America right now some of the most powerful leaders
in the world's economy. And that means it's Mark Zuckerberg
(20:00):
and Larry Ellison and Jensen Wang and Tim Cook and
god forbid, Elon Musk. They have all been to need
a Trump for a reason, and it's economic. They believe
they can get favorable regulatory treatment from Trump if they
just do what he wants. They believe they can get
(20:25):
AI without regulation. They believe they can get the oil
and gas folks believe they can get zero regulation on
exploration and exploitation. All these folks believe that Donald Trump
is for sale, and sometimes he is. But here's what's happening,
(20:48):
and these guys don't understand it. Again, there's a pernicious
ideological movement inside of this administration. You have to set
aside Donald Trump for a second. Set aside this goofy
absurdity in Donald Trump. That absurdity makes you think he's
(21:11):
less serious or less dangerous sometimes. But the Russell Voughts
and the Brendan Carrs and the JD. Vances and the
Marco Rubios and the Stephen Millers, they understand that power
isn't real unless you use it. So the Democrats need
(21:35):
to begin to understand that when they take back the
House in Sheella, the exercise of power is required. And
I will promise you what's going to happen in the
next few weeks. By the way, lobbyists will go to
Democratic senators and House members with a check, not a
(21:58):
big check, not as much as there were publican counterparts
to get who They'll get a check from next door
or from Sinclair, or from Disney, any of the vast
Disney array of comboos, and their lobbyists will say, hey, listen,
you know they're just doing doing what they got to do. Man,
(22:18):
Just just you know, let us give us, give us
a breather on this winning. We're doing what we got
to do for my Democratic friends. I hope that when
those people come to you with that money, you will
look them square in the face and say, get out
of my office now leave, never return. You welcome fear,
(22:46):
because if you take that money, the old Washington game begins.
Take that money from Sinclair or from Disney or boomever.
You're compromised at that point. And Trump and his people
will say, oh, well so and so it's criticizer Disney.
But they took their money. Do not take the bait
(23:07):
or the money. When when that moment comes, you need
to understand that they are there because they believe that
a democracy doesn't function any longer and they're in a
kleptocracy and you can be bought. Don't be bought. What
democrats must do when they retake the house again in Shilah,
(23:31):
I want Bob Iger in that chair in oversight, not
for a little bit, but for days. You want to
ensure that you're getting every email, every phone record, You're
going through their books with the fun and tooth comb
because all of these people that are bending the knee
(23:52):
are doing it because they want regulatory favorability. They want
their deals to be approved, they want their mergers to
go forward. CBS is getting a political commissar installed processes.
In your mind again, CBS is having a political commissar
who was approved by the Trump administration installed in CBS
(24:16):
to monitor their bias.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Now, listen, you know, if you step back, what's happening
here is you know, I think President Trump is fundamentally
reshaping the media landscape.
Speaker 6 (24:25):
And the way he's doing that is when he ran
for election.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
He ran directly at these legacy broadcast media outlets ABC,
NBCCBS for years. You know, government officials just allowed those
entities with execs sitting in Hollywood in New York to
dictate the political narrative.
Speaker 6 (24:42):
And he has fundamentally changed the game.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
And you see that really having consequences that are just
rushing all through media. The thing that was really important
to me in all of this was that the new
owners of CBS came in and said it's time for
a change. We're going to reoriented towards getting rid of
bias to looking at fact based reporting. They said they're
going to get rid of in vidious forms of dei discrimination.
Speaker 6 (25:04):
At the end of the day, that's what made the
difference for us in terms of our review at the agency.
Speaker 12 (25:09):
Yeah, and so again, when Anagomez writes you're imposing never
before seen controls over newsroom decisions and editorial judgment and
direct violation to the First Amendment, you say, what, I think, it's.
Speaker 6 (25:20):
Signed for a change.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
And the procedures that we put in place in this
deal have lots of precedent.
Speaker 6 (25:26):
For instance, there's been on Boodsman's put in place.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
By the STC before we're putting a biased on Bodsman
in place.
Speaker 6 (25:31):
Here, we're addressing DEI.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
The prior SCC during the Biden years put pro DEI
commitments in different transactions, and so we're unwinding that type
of approach and we're frankly taking a trust but verify
perspective here. I think this could do go a long
way to restoring America's trust in media. And again, the
media itself, I think has undermined itself over these last
couple of years. When you look at the stuff that
(25:54):
Colbert is doing, the idea that you know a partisan
carnival makes economic sense.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
These are business decisions at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
And again I think it goes back to President Trump
because this facade of gatekeeper legitimacy that was conferred on
these outlets as going away and we're just seeing a
lot of Domino's fall as a result of that.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
If you think that's normal, first off, you're not a conservative.
I think that's American. You have never read the Constitution.
And if you think that won't spread like a cancer,
you're out of your grand mind, folks. And again I'm
addressing this to my Democratic friends. Right now, there's a
(26:34):
game being played that is for all the marbles and
when you take back power, I think show up. If
you don't skip the obvious bait and go after the
vulnerable bait, you are making a mistake. Do not start
(26:55):
impeachment hearings against Donald Trump. It doesn't do any good.
Do drag the CEOs of Next Star, Do drag the
CEOs of Sinclair, Do drag every senior advisor and senior
member of the board at Disney. All of these things
(27:17):
are a form of political combat that you are generally
loath to engage. And I get it, but you must.
You absolutely must. This next year and a half, as
we enter into the campaign season of twenty twenty six
and the immediate aftermath of the election is going to
(27:37):
be incredibly painful. It is going to be dangerous. That
Trump administration now understands they are unconstrained by their own party,
they're unconstrained by the Supreme Court, they're constrained by the
lower courts. They're going to go for it all. We're
in the late stages of this republic. It is not
(27:58):
past saving, but this move today that takes the most
fundamental right that the founders set first and foremost in
the Constitution and they've now turned it into a weapon
to silence, to set comedians can't make jokes. Very soon,
(28:18):
you will see Brendan Carr saying, oh, that story wasn't
covered properly. You will see Brendan Carr saying, oh, that
reporter was a nice to the president. You will see
Brendan Carr saying, well, we're going to take away the
broadcast license of this or that networker station because we
felt like you didn't take our talking points. And folks,
(28:42):
please believe me when I tell you they have no shame.
They will not stop this until they are stopped. The
end of this republic will come when a comedian can't
make a joke about a president. The end of this
republic will come when a reporter says, you know what,
(29:03):
I don't want to write this story because I might
get arrested. The cancel culture on the right that they
have built up since the Charlie Kirk assassination is quite astounding,
and they're getting away with it right now. There are
some practical things you can do as an American and
as a consumer. Disney is still a company. Stop subscribing
(29:27):
to their product. We quit Disney Plus tonight. Sorry, I'd
find and Or somewhere else. I guess ironic that and Or,
the single show that has the most compelling understanding of
the political moment in this country is a product of
the same company that is doing everything that they can
(29:50):
by firing Jimmy Kimmel for making jokes the President didn't like.
So ironic, it's astoundingly dark ironic. There are things you
can do. You can vote with your wallet. Again, we
canceled our Disney Plus tonight. If you really want to
(30:12):
hurt them where the money gets made, folks, cancel that subscription.
Do not go to their parks. Just don't you know what.
They're expensive and overrated these days. Anyway, They're kind of
an awful experience now for most people. As you're going
to pay thousands of extra dollars, just don't go. Stop
buying the merch break the spell. You know that the
(30:36):
mouse the house the mouse built. This is incredibly powerful organization.
They did not have to do this, but they chose
to do it so they can then continue to expand
and do these mergers and do these buy it these
acquisitions and everything else. And Bob Iger, who again was
(30:57):
a guy with a sterling business, reputation, a guy who
people considered one of the good guys in corporate America,
a guy who stood up when Ron DeSantis was saying, Oh,
you can't have any LGBT materials in your parks for
in your corporate materials. Basically beat the Santas down on it,
(31:19):
basically won the bout. If you believe as a corporate
CEO that the only thing that matters is your quarterly
report and shareholder value, when you know what you're doing
is anathema to an American constitutional system that puts the
freedom of speech at the very highest pinnacle, then you
(31:42):
are missing the elephant in the room. Hey, folks, thanks
for listening to the elephant in the room. This is
our little mini podcast once a week on Fridays. Hope
you'll catch me on our streaming shows Strategy Session on
Tuesday nights, Breakdown on Thursday Nights Behind the Numbers with
the Wilson's on Fridays, and check out my podcast at
the Lincoln Project Podcast and the Enemies List podcast as well.
(32:04):
You can also check out that trippy show Punching Up
with Miam. We've got a whole bunch of stuff coming
out of Lincoln Square we're expanding so rapidly. We really
appreciate all the support and all the love folks are sent.
And if you could go on our YouTube channel, do
the like, subscribe, click the bell. All those things feed
the mighty maw of the algorithm. Anyway, I appreciate you all.
Keep fighting, stay in this fight. Let Disney know your pissed.
(32:28):
Let Disney know this is this ain't working, this ain't it? Chief?
All right, folks, see you that. The Lincoln Project Podcast
is a Lincoln Project production.
Speaker 17 (32:39):
Executive produced by Whitney Hayes, Then Howe and Joey Wertner Cheney,
edited by Riley Maine. Hey, folks, if you want to
support The Lincoln Project's work against Donald Trump, Elon Musk
and this Maga craziness, go to action dot Lincoln Project
dot us slash l LP. You'd like to get in touch,
or have suggestions for a guest or a show topic,
or just want to say hi. Our email is podcast
(33:00):
at Lincoln Project dot us for our Maga friends.
Speaker 4 (33:03):
Please no more nudes. Thanks so much and we'll talk
to you again next time.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
And good black
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