Sen. Rand Paul became the latest GOP name to push back against a top federal regulator’s remarks over comedian Jimmy Kimmel and the media.
In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker on Sunday, the Kentucky Republican was asked about FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s comment that “we can do this the easy way or the hard way” when it comes to companies taking action against Kimmel.
“Absolutely inappropriate,” Paul replied. “Brendan Carr has got no business weighing in on this. But people have to also realize that despicable comments, you have the right to say them. But you don’t have the right to employment.”
During his late-night show, Kimmel criticized what he called the “MAGA gang” for “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Nexstar Media Group, which owns 32 ABC affiliate stations and is pursuing a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna requiring FCC approval, announced it would pre-empt the show “for the foreseeable future.” Sinclair Broadcasting, the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, also removed the show and demanded Kimmel apologize to Kirk’s family.
Disney-owned ABC said it was pre-empting Kimmel’s show indefinitely, setting off another backlash among people angry that the media giant caved to the pressure.
On Sunday, Paul noted that most employers have a code of conduct that could trigger dismissal when employees violate it. But that’s a business decision that shouldn’t involve the FCC, he said.
“I mean, this is television, for goodness’ sakes. You have to sell sponsorships. You have to sell commercials. And if you’re losing money, you can be fired,” Paul added. “But the government’s got no business in it. And the FCC was wrong to weigh in. And I’ll fight any attempt by the government to get involved with speech, I will fight.”
Paul’s comments echo those of Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who said he hated what Kimmel said but also likened Carr’s threat to something a “mafioso” would say.
In an episode of his podcast on Friday, Cruz similarly warned against the government meddling in free speech and called Carr’s remarks “dangerous as hell.”
“I think it is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying, ‘We’re going to decide what speech we like and what we don’t, and we’re going to threaten to take you off air if we don’t like what you’re saying,’” Cruz added. “And it might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it.”
President Donald Trump, who has said the FCC could reexamine licenses for broadcasters that repeatedly criticize him, called Carr an American patriot in response to Cruz’s comments, adding he disagreed with the senator.
But Cruz and Paul aren’t the only conservatives raising alarms about free speech. Political commentator Tucker Carlson also said he hopes Kirk’s murder “won’t be leveraged to bring hate speech laws to this country.”
To be sure, other Republicans have voiced support for the FCC or downplayed the importance of the First Amendment. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told NBC on Friday that the FCC is right to question broadcast networks regarding their licenses.
And Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told Semafor on Thursday that a broadcasting license issued by the FCC is a privilege, not a right.
“Under normal times, in normal circumstances, I tend to think that the First Amendment should always be sort of the ultimate right. And that there should be almost no checks and balances on it,” she said. “I don’t feel that way anymore. I feel like something’s changed culturally. And I think that there needs to be some cognizance that things have changed.”
