'Communist': Observers bash Trump's TV regulator after he 'threatens' a media company

Critics are attacking President Donald Trump's director of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, after he bashed a media conglomerate on X over the news coverage by its subsidiary cable news channel.

"Comcast outlets spent days misleading the American public—implying that Abrego Garcia was merely a law abiding U.S. citizen, just a regular 'Maryland man,'" wrote Carr. "When the truth comes out, they ignore it. Comcast knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest. News distortion doesn’t cut it. Abrego Garcia came to America illegally from El Salvador, was validated as a member of the violent MS13 gang—a transnational criminal organization—and was denied bond by an immigration court for failure to show he would not pose a danger to others. Why does Comcast ignore these facts of obvious public interest?"

Carr was responding to a Trump administration aide who shamed networks for not showing the White House press briefing that featured the mother of a girl killed by an immigrant. Patty Morin went into graphic detail about the murder of her daughter on Wednesday. The man responsible was arrested and convicted by a jury.

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Kilmar Ábrego García was among those accused of being a gang member and shipped to a prison in El Salvador. In 2019, an immigration judge barred him from being sent to El Salvador, CBS News reported. The U.S. government continues to claim that García is an MS-13 gang member, but one legal analyst wrote Tuesday there's reason to question this.

He had no connection to the murder of Morin's daughter.

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security posted a 2021 filing in which García's wife sought a protective order. In a statement about the matter, she said that it was a difficult time in their relationship, and her reaction was due to fears caused by a previous relationship. She said their marriage has since grown stronger. She never went through with the protective order, and everything was dismissed.

Critics were shocked that a government official responsible for regulating the industry would "threaten" a company for its news coverage.

"So I know @BrendanCarrFCC from my days on the energy and commerce committee. I never in my life would have imagined that this guy who I thought was a good man, would turn out to be the composer of state approved talking points and media. This is truly sad and disgraceful," wrote former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).

Philadelphia lawmaker, Rep. Ben Waxman (D-PA) posted on X, "The chair of the FCC is openly threatening to punish @Comcast —a major employer headquartered in my district—because MSNBC aired views he doesn’t like. That’s not regulation. That’s government retaliation against protected speech. It’s dangerous, authoritarian, and wrong."

"This is the head of the FCC lecturing a media company because it's covering a news story in a way he doesn't like, and implying that it might be violating federal law by doing so. Your free-speech administration, ladies and gentlemen," wrote James Surowiecki, a contributing writer for Fast Company and The Atlantic.

"Just hours after proclaiming that the Trump administration is 'restoring free speech rights to Americans,' the FCC chairman is implicitly threatening a news outlet over its editorial decisions," wrote Deadline's Ted Johnson on X.

Libertarian and Reason editor Nick Gillespie pointed out "that the FCC doesn't have jurisdiction over cable content."

"We need a separation of government and broadcasting," said Reason's editor at large, Matt Welch.

"Abrego Garcia could be the biggest piece of s--- in the world, and the US still couldn't ignore a court order forbidding removal to El Salvador. People who suck still have rights. And Brendan Carr shouldn't try to make it illegal to point this out," wrote defense attorney Andrew Fleischman.

"The man is a communist. This is the kind of crap you’d see in the Soviet Union, or communist China. Another Trump un-American puppet using the government to beat up private corporations who don’t advocate on behalf of Maga. This is literally what Putin does in Russia. These people hate America, and they hate our freedoms," posted John Aravosis of the Aravosis Report.

"The hypocrisy of MAGA doesn’t shock me anymore, though this one takes it to new levels. To be pro-free speech but also want the FCC to edit and shape news coverage with vulgar threats is absurdly authoritarian. If this movement is not smashed and thoroughly discredited, it’s the end of the U.S. as even a marginally free country," said Ryan Grimm, co-host of "Counter Points."