Trump Wants the FCC To Punish His Enemies

On this special edition of The Reason Roundtable, Senior Editor Robby Soave is joined by Associate Editor Liz Wolfe, reporter Reem Ibrahim, and Senior Producer Zach Weissmueller to discuss President Donald Trump’s latest threat to use the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. They debate Trump’s willingness to use government power against speech he dislikes, whether the FCC has become obsolete in the age of digital media, and what the president’s attacks on the press say about the Republican Party’s commitment to free speech.

The panel also discusses Trump’s escalating war with Iran, Meta’s $17 billion settlement over alleged harms to children and whether parents or the government should be responsible for limiting kids’ social media use, and the deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos amid his feud with Laura Loomer.

0:00—Trump wants the FCC to punish Welker

13:58—U.S. and Iran trade strikes in the Strait of Hormuz

23:56—Meta settles lawsuit for $17 billion

45:15—Yiannopoulos gets deported

52:08—Weekly cultural recommendations

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Mentioned in the podcast:

“Trump Declared NBC’s Kristen Welker Will Be ‘Reported To the FCC For Rebuke or Punishment’,” by Liz Wolfe

“A Liberal Think Tank and an Air Force Major Are Trump’s Latest Targets for Speech Policing,” by Joe Lancaster

“What Craigslist and Backpage Can Tell Us About the Meta Settlement,” by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

“Haidt’s Moment,” by Liz Wolfe

“9/11 Turbocharged America’s Worst Foreign Policy Impulses—but Didn’t Change Its Direction,” by Emma Ashford

“Milo Yiannopoulos Wanted Millions Deported. He Didn’t Mean Himself,” by Billy Binion