FCC Chairman Brendan Carr boasted about Donald Trump’s targeted attacks on legacy media, declaring the president is “winning” his war against “fake news.”
The Trump loyalist issued the remarks during his appearance at Friday’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine, Texas.
“Look, President Trump, when he ran for office, he ran directly at the fake news media,” Carr said during his filmed appearance. “So many other politicians and Americans simply gave way to the legacy national media, they let the legacy media set the narrative and President Trump smashed the facade. He said you don’t get to say what we say, what we think, how we’re gonna vote inside the voting booth.”
He continued: “President Trump took on the fake news media, and President Trump is winning. Look at the results, so far. PBS defunded. NPR defunded. Joy Reid gone from MSNBC. Sleepy-Eyed Chuck Todd gone. Jim Acosta gone. John Dickerson gone. [Stephen] Colbert is leaving. CBS is under new ownership, and soon enough CNN will have new ownership as well.”
Carr was, of course, referring to the $110 billion Warner Bros.-Paramount deal, which will see the David Ellison-owned Paramount-Skydance become the new owner of CNN once the merger concludes. (The Ellisons are known for their close ties with President Trump.)
While Carr noted that they were “not at the point yet raising the mission accomplished flag,” he once again declared that “President Trump is taking on the fake news media and President Trump is winning.”
As footage of Carr’s speech began making the rounds online Friday, many criticized the FCC chairman for essentially bragging that the administration was going after the First Amendment.
“The fact that he’s saying that the president of the United States is winning against the media, should disqualify him from having this job,” one X user sounded off. “Because clearly they only want one man to control the media in the United States. I’m glad you said it. Perfect evidence for the trial later.”
Another bluntly wrote, “This is not a flex dumbass. You’re just admitting that the administration is going after the free press.”
FCC Chair: Trump is winning. Look at the results—PBS and NPR defunded. Joy Reid, Sleepy-Eyed Chuck Todd, Jim Acosta, John Dickerson are gone. Colbert is leaving. CBS is under new ownership, and soon enough CNN will have new ownership as well. pic.twitter.com/8kdrG5T3GP
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 27, 2026
Meanwhile, a third commented, “In any other administration he would’ve been fired for saying this.”
Carr has faced an ample amount of criticism for his work under Trump, especially from Jimmy Kimmel, who was briefly suspended from “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in September for his comments regarding Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Just last week, Kimmel slammed Trump for praising Carr after he threatened to revoke broadcast networks’ licenses over Iran War coverage.
“Trump is very upset about network news coverage of his war,” Kimmel said at the time. “And so, he’s called in his attack schnauzer, Mr. We Can Do This the Easy Way or the Hard Way, FCC chairman Brendan Carr, who this weekend sounded the alarm against freedom of the press.”
As Kimmel went on, he read aloud Carr’s X message, in which he accused broadcasters of “running hoaxes and news distortions” amid Iran War coverage, warning they’ll “lose their licenses” if they do not “correct course” before renewals come up.
“The media didn’t earn themselves the label of fake news,” Kimmel hit back. “The first fatso made that up and you ran with it.”
