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Donald Trump is taking aim at Gayle King.
With the firing of Stephen Colbert, he’s realized just how craven Paramount can be. And his hunger to punish even more vocal critics is palpable.
Between his usual grievances and his desire to discuss anything but longtime bestie Jeffrey Epstein, he’s rage-posting up a storm.
The question is whether CBS will once again serve Trump what he wants on a gaudy gold-plated platter.
Donald Trump wants Gayle King fired
It began when Donald Trump shared a New York Post article about Gayle King on his ironically named Truth Social social media platform.
The article quoted an alleged source at CBS who claimed that King’s ratings were lower due to “woke” coverage on topics like human rights, when morning TV viewers would prefer empty chatter like they get at NBC.
King is a journalist. It would be weird if she filled minutes with mindless nonsense.
If you want someone to talk to someone about quirky habits or their new fragrance line, that’s what Jenna Bush Hager is apparently for.
In addition to sharing the article, America’s mad king ranted against the prominent journalist for disliking him.
“Gayle King’s career is over. She should have stayed with her belief in TRUMP,” he rambled. (It is unclear why he believes that she was ever as political supporter of his)
“She never had the courage to do so,” Trump griped.
“No talent, no ratings, no strength!!!”
Will CBS do what he wants (again)?
Under ordinary circumstances, this would be sad and embarrassing ramblings of an 80-year-old whose cognitive decline has been playing out on television for years.
However, under ordinary circumstances, no one occupying the Oval Office would stoop to saying anything of the sort.
We don’t just mean that President Obama or President Biden would never rage-tweet about a journalist who’s critical of them.
We also mean that no other POTUS in modern history would weaponize the FTC to force massive media conglomerates to punish their critics.
As we discussed in our coverage of Trump’s successful vengeance against Colbert, there is a simple (if non-exhaustive) litmus test for a free society.
Can a comedian go on television and criticize the country’s leader without facing consequences?
This summer, America has failed that test.
Paramount and CBS have claimed that this was a financial decision. But the $8 billion merger that Trump’s FTC only approved after this news sounds very financial.
If he gets his way, this will never stop
Paramount is not the only massive company that Donald Trump hopes will become his collaborators in targeting critics like Gayle King and Stephen Colbert.
He has vocally signaled his desire for ABC (owned by Disney) to fire Jimmy Kimmel and for NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon.
And, no matter where things stand, there is always a chance that feckless corporate boards will cave.
Maybe even the people running these companies will realize that Trump will never feel satisfied, and will always add new grievances.
Obeying him could hurt their bottom line in the long term, especially if collaborators face consequences in a few years.
80 years later, and there are still people who don’t buy from Bayer or Volkswagen.
And maybe more people will realize that every bit of infuriating nonsense that comes spewing out of him these days is a potential distraction from his inexorable ties to Epstein.
Donald Trump Pushes CBS to Fire Gayle King (And Other Critics) was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.