4. Clinton , W. Bush , Obama, Biden

and by a twisted logic, himself as both a former and a current. so 5 if bybthis logic. Perhaps hecwas speaking about himself.

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Reports from White House officials say Trump was hoping the Iran war would boost his approval ratings. It hasn’t worked. So now the administration has moved on to phase two is controlling what you see on TV.

On Saturday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licenses over their coverage of the war, escalating the administration’s campaign to silence reporting it doesn’t like. The trigger was Trump’s Truth Social post accusing the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other outlets of “wanting the U.S. to lose the war” after they reported that Iranian missiles struck five U.S. refueling tankers in Saudi Arabia. The very next day, Trump said on Truth Social he was “thrilled” that Carr was “looking at the licenses” of what he called “Highly Unpatriotic News Organizations.”

This wasn’t just Carr acting alone. The day before Carr’s threat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth scolded reporters at his briefing and singled out CNN, saying “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” a reference to a pending acquisition that requires federal approval.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy didn’t mince words: “This is the federal government telling news stations to provide favorable coverage of the war or their licenses will be pulled. A truly extraordinary moment. We aren’t on the verge of a totalitarian takeover. We are in the middle of it.”

The lone Democrat on the FCC, Commissioner Anna Gomez, said Carr’s threats “violate the First Amendment and will go nowhere” but she also noted that the threat itself “is the point.” The pressure alone shapes corporate decisions, especially as massive media mergers sit waiting for federal approval.

TV licenses don’t come up for renewal until late 2028, the FCC hasn’t denied a license renewal in decades, and any attempt to do so would trigger a lengthy legal battle and near certain First Amendment challenges. But that may not matter. Media advocacy groups say Carr is deliberately pushing broadcasters toward self censorship, achieving what Trump wants without ever having to pull a single license. It’s already worked before when Carr raised alarms about Jimmy Kimmel last fall, ABC pulled the show within hours. The goal isn’t complicated. Make the media sell the war, or make them afraid not to.