America meet fascism.

Consolidation and control of the media is the first step

The Trump administration is exploiting the murder of Charlie Kirk to advance Project 2025, seek revenge on their political opponents, and enact their authoritarian agenda.

Yesterday, Disney put Jimmy Kimmel on an indefinite hiatus. His “offense”? Loosely criticizing “the MAGA Gang” for trying to label Kirk’s assassin a leftist.

This wasn’t about Disney or ABC objecting to Kimmel’s words. It came after a direct threat from an FCC official, Brendan Carr, on Benny Johnson’s podcast:

This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.

They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”

Hours later, ABC pulled Kimmel from the air.

This tweet from Ari Fleischer basically sums up MAGA’s defense of Kimmel’s firing:

That claim has no basis in fact. Let’s be clear, the government is leveraging state power to silence a critic.

Stephen Miller made the agenda explicit:

We are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks and make America safe again for the American people. It will happen, and we will do it in Charlie’s name.

Right on cue, the FCC threat was followed by Kimmel’s removal. That’s textbook government censorship.

At first glance, this appears to be the culmination of a personal vendetta Trump has harbored against Kimmel for years. However, I’m afraid this is not the end, but merely the beginning of our rapid descent into authoritarianism.

Victor Orban, the media, and fascism.

After winning a supermajority in 2010, Viktor Orbán consolidated media control as the foundation for a broader power grab:

• Gut public broadcasting and neutralize watchdogs.

• Rewrite media laws and pack regulatory boards with loyalists.

• Engineer buyouts and transfers that funneled hundreds of outlets into a single, regime-aligned foundation.

• Run personalized smear campaigns to chill dissent.y

Donald Trump’s playbook is not just similar to Orban’s, it is openly inspired by it.

• Undermining public media funding.

• Leaning on the FCC to threaten networks and licensees.

• Loosening rules that drive media consolidation.

• Weaponizing lawsuits, merger reviews, and regulatory delays to punish critical coverage.

These similarities are a strategy, not a coincidence, and it’s time to raise the alarm from “concerned” to “I learned about this in school.”

So now what?

Legacy media companies are not going to hold the line. They have all decided that their financial obligations outweigh their duty to our constitution. It’s a bad calculation, but that doesn’t matter. It’s one they have made.

That’s the bad news. The good news is these companies have far less power than they used to, and we can still push back against all of this.

• Call out right-wing media capture. Elected Democrats must name and shame the billionaires using their platforms to serve Trump—and make clear that blind fidelity will have consequences when the pendulum swings back.

• Support independent journalism. Crooked Media, The Bulwark, Zeteo, ProPublica, and others are doing essential work. Back them.

• Demand action from our politicians. We’re not going back to 2016. The country has changed; the opposition party must act accordingly. Defending democracy must be central, and candidates should be held to a higher standard as primary season begins.

• Keep speaking up. Don’t be intimidated into silence. Keep pushing.

Trump is not popular. The MAGA agenda is not popular. The government's cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel is not going to be popular. A political price should be paid for all of this.

Trump wants us to check out, he wants us to give up, he wants us to feel overwhelmed. Fascism requires that to succeed. Let’s not fall into that trap.