Trump’s FCC Attack Dog Zeroes In on Fired CBS Star
President Donald Trump’s hand-picked Federal Communications Commission Chair has waded into the dispute between fired 60 Minutes star Scott Pelley and MAGA-curious CBS News boss Bari Weiss.
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Responding to a post on X that highlighted Pelley’s shock at being fired after nearly four decades with CBS News, Carr said the respected journalist and former White House correspondent was the reason for Americans’ lack of trust in the media.
“One of the reasons why trust in media is so low is because many legacy journalists are completely out of touch,” Carr wrote.
“You could not get away with that behavior at any run-of-the-mill job. It is revealing to see how blind some are to that,” he added, seeming to respond to the post he was quoting.
It said Pelley had told The New York Times that being fired was the “furthest thing from my mind” after he had blown up at senior management over a rash of firings at 60 Minutes.
In an interview with the New York Times published Sunday morning, Pelley revealed that Weiss had tried to direct the news narrative around incidents that made Trump look bad.
He used the example of Weiss allegedly wanting 60 Minutes to make it look as though murdered Minnesotan mother Renée Good had been driving her car at an ICE agent when she was shot in January.
Weiss was installed at CBS News by billionaire nepo baby—and Trump fan—David Ellison, who runs Paramount, which includes CBS.
The president, 79, successfully sued CBS over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris that ran ahead of their 2024 match-up, and walked away with a $16 million settlement. The program has been in his line of fire ever since.
Weiss moved at the end of May to fire two correspondents and the executive producer, installing new EP Nick Bilton, who has no management or television experience.
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At his first meeting with the remaining staff on Monday, Pelley blew up at Bilton, an interaction that led to his firing.
This is not the first skirmish between the president’s interests and high-profile TV personalities in which Carr has played a role.
Just three days after Stephen Colbert called the president’s $16 million payday a “big, fat bribe,” his long-running Late Night was canceled by the network.
Soon after, Paramount’s sale to Skydance Media—Ellison’s company—was approved by the FCC.
ABC was also targeted with an FCC investigation around the same time Trump sued the broadcaster.
ABC star Jimmy Kimmel was directly targeted by Carr for comments he made in the wake of Trump ally Charlie Kirk’s murder in September 2025. The late-night host was suspended by the network, but ultimately not fired.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said on a podcast. “These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Carr renewed his attacks on Kimmel earlier this year, after a joke about Melania Trump caused outrage in the wake of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
Carr threatened Disney’s broadcasting license, and said it would be reviewed.
Such actions have exposed Carr to criticism that he is using the FCC to curtail speech unfavorable to Trump.
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The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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