President Donald Trump came to the defense of Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr on Friday after Republican Senator Ted Cruz accused Carr of acting like a mafia boss for pressuring ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel.
Earlier this week, Cruz blasted Carr on his podcast, calling his actions “dangerous as hell” and comparing them to something “right out of GoodFellas.” He warned that granting the government power to silence media voices would ultimately harm conservatives. “They will silence us,” Cruz said. “They will use this power, and they will use it ruthlessly.”
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump rejected Cruz’s criticism. He praised Carr as “an incredible American patriot” who was standing up to networks that gave him overwhelmingly negative coverage. “I disagree with Ted Cruz,” Trump told reporters. “I think Brendan Carr doesn’t like to see the airwaves be used illegally and incorrectly, and purposely horribly.”
Trump argued that broadcasters had a duty to show “honesty and integrity” and accused them of unfairly portraying his successes. “When they take a great success, like you often do, and you make it into like it’s a loser, or you put a negative spin on it, I don’t think that’s right. So I think Brendan Carr is a great American.”
The clash follows ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the host criticized some in the MAGA movement for distancing themselves from the suspect in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Carr, a key figure in Project 2025 and Trump’s choice to lead the FCC, threatened to revoke ABC’s license, saying Kimmel’s remarks violated broadcasters’ duty to serve the public interest.
On the Benny Johnson Podcast, Carr warned Disney executives: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” House Democratic leaders condemned Carr’s actions and called for his resignation, accusing him of “bullying” ABC and undermining free speech.
In a joint statement, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others called the suspension part of Trump’s “war on the First Amendment.” While many Republicans stayed cautious, Cruz went further, arguing that even though Kimmel had grown “profoundly unfunny,” the suspension set a dangerous precedent.
Putting on a mobster’s accent, he added: “That’s right out of a mafioso going into a bar, and going, ‘Nice bar you have here, it would be a shame if something happened to it!’” The Kimmel controversy came in a week filled with free speech battles.
Trump filed a $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times, lashed out at Australian journalist John Lyons for questioning his finances, and clashed with ABC reporter Jonathan Karl over hate speech laws. He also suggested that broadcasters who allow heavy criticism of him should “maybe lose their license.”