Trump is right about NBC and Comcast
Published 10:19 am Friday, October 20, 2017
by Michael Reagan
President Trump was right when he used Twitter this past week to expose Comcast’s network NBC for their outrageous bias against him.
Trump tweeted: “People are just now starting to find out how dishonest and disgusting (FakeNews) @NBCNews is. Viewers beware. May be worse than even @CNN!”
Comcast, one the nation’s largest media companies, owns NBC and the Xfinity cable system as well the very liberal MSNBC cable channel.
No media company opposes the president and his agenda more than Comcast.
In fact, the media venom I see coming from Comcast against President Trump exceeds even what my dad faced in the 1980s — and that was pretty ugly.
Don’t forget that Comcast also owns the TV show “Access Hollywood.” Remember their “leaked” tape of Trump and Billy Bush?
Well, it is widely known that Comcast leaked that tape weeks before the election in a clear bid to destroy Trump and elect Hillary Clinton.
I have been in media for almost my entire life. Both my dad and mom, Jane Wyman, were famous actors. Everyone “in the biz” knows the rule: what you say “off air” — even if the microphone or cameras are rolling — is strictly off-the-record.
My guess is that half the reporters in America would have to resign if their “off air” comments were leaked.
To make matters worse, Comcast’s MSNBC has a daily drumbeat of stories: Trump should be impeached… Trump is crazy… Trump is a White supremacist — you know the drill.
Forgive me, but during the whole Obama administration, I never saw Fox News ever treat him badly to that degree.
Comcast NBC’s hypocrisy in their attacks on Trump became clear with the recent revelation that their reporter had the full facts of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual attacks — including a New York Police audio tape of Weinstein’s efforts to attack an innocent woman.
Comcast refused to air their NBC reporter’s shocking findings or the audio tape. Why?
When President Trump suggested NBC lose their license, I feel he’s justified, but I’m not sure that’s his plan. But I do understand his anger.
Trump’s Tweet reminds us that Comcast and their cable company Xfinity don’t own the public airwaves. They receive a license to broadcast. They are expected to be fair and live up to certain responsibilities.
Even if the FCC or Congress doesn’t take action against Comcast and Xfinity, Americans are already acting with their checkbooks.
This quarter alone Xfinity announced it could lose as many as 150,000 cable and broadband subscribers — an estimated loss of over $800 million in Comcast’s equity value in just a three month period!
And this weekend USA Today reported that CNBC, once the premiere business channel in the nation, has lost its perch to Fox Business News, now the number one rated channel for finance.
Mr. President, kudos for having the guts to stand up to Comcast and NBC. Millions of Americans are standing with you, and they are switching them off!
MICHAEL REAGAN is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of “The New Reagan Revolution” (St. Martin’s Press). He is the founder of the email service reagan.com and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Visit his websites at www.reagan.com and www.michaelereagan.com. Send comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com. Follow @reaganworld on Twitter.