The Fine Print of Trump Fascism The Trump regime is taking over every major institution in America. Here's how. Robert Reich Jul 31 Friends, Today I want to describe for you the specific mechanism of control the Trump regime is using over the core institutions of America — the media, higher education, our largest corporations, and Wall Street. It's all in the fine print. Start with CBS. It’s now owned by Skydance Media. Under its Trump-appointed chairman, Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission insisted, as a condition of allowing Paramount to sell CBS to Skydance, that the new owner install an “ombudsman.” What will that ombudsman do? According to Skydance Media’s agreement with the FCC, the ombudsman will “receive and evaluate any complaints of bias or other concerns involving CBS” for at least two years. The agreement doesn’t specify the meaning of “bias,” nor does it define whose “complaints” are to be responded to, nor enumerate what “other concerns” might trigger action. But none of this is difficult to imagine. Trump himself could complain of CBS’s bias or anything else. In fact, he probably will. He already has at least once. If the ombudsman then decides that any complaint of bias or other concern is justified, CBS will have to remedy it. If the ombudsman decides that CBS has not remedied it, Skydance Media’s new president, David Ellison, must do so. If Ellison does not remedy it — or if Trump believes the problem continues, regardless of what the ombudsman decides — the Trump regime can claim that CBS has reneged on its agreement, in which case Skydance’s ownership of CBS could be contested by the FCC. Its stock price would plummet. Note that this method of Trump control is indirect but powerful. The regime doesn’t have to assert control over CBS; it just retains the power to do so. And it’s up to Trump to determine what CBS will have to do to avoid being found to be “biased” or avoid any “other concern.” This mechanism of control is similar at Columbia University, whose new agreement with the Trump regime stipulates a mutually agreed-upon “monitor” who will, like CBS’s ombudsman, respond to complaints about “bias.” Columbia will provide the monitor detailed information about the race of students who are admitted and rejected, including grade point averages and standardized test scores broken down by race. All data related to faculty and administrative staff hiring and promotion practices must be provided to the monitor annually, and hiring data will be subject to a “comprehensive audit.” The monitor is also charged with assuring that the university establishes processes to guarantee “civil discourse, free inquiry, open debate, and the fundamental values of equality and respect.” And the monitor will review data to assure Columbia is meting out discipline without regard to a student’s immigration status. The monitor’s decisions are advisory. If the Trump regime is dissatisfied with the monitor’s decision or feels that the university is not acting in accordance with it, the Trump regime reserves the right to open a new investigation of Columbia and possibly revoke current or future federal research funds. Just like the CBS agreement, the Columbia agreement gives final power to the Trump regime. It allows the regime to maintain control over Columbia by holding a cudgel over the university. As Linda McMahon, Trump’s secretary of education, told Fox Business, “This is a monumental victory for conservatives who wanted to do things on these elite campuses for a long time because we had such far-left-leaning professors.” Or consider the Trump regime’s agreement allowing Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel. During his 2024 campaign, Trump denounced Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel as a threat to American manufacturing. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!” On resuming office, though, Trump approved the deal. But this was after forcing Nippon Steel to give a “golden share” to the Trump regime — essentially giving Trump veto power over strategic decisions by the company. You see the pattern? Veto power over strategic decisions. Ombudsmen. Monitors. They’re all mechanisms for giving the Trump regime power to prevent these institutions — a television network, university, or corporation — from doing something that the Trump regime doesn’t want it to do. But because that power is held in reserve, Trump doesn’t have to display it. The heads of these institutions will do all the work for him; they’re likely to go out of their way to avoid offending the regime. The potential chilling effect is enormous. It’s much the same with major law firms that have surrendered to Trump. And with ABC. And with Jeff Bezos’s control over The Washington Post’s editorial page — which appears to be motivated by fear that Trump might retaliate against Bezos’s other businesses unless Bezos forces the Post to toe the line. It’s the same even with Wall Street. “I have been working on multiple deals where I have people inside the White House telling me what I can and can’t do,” a top dealmaker involved in mergers and acquisitions unrelated to the government recently told the Financial Times. “It’s a level of intrusion I have never experienced before.” Note these words: A level of intrusion I have never experienced before. That from a dealmaker on Wall Street! The words apply to more and more institutions in America that used to be free from government control. This level of intrusion inhibits public criticism of Trump, which is what Trump wants. It also deters so-called “conservative bias” in university hiring, however the Trump regime wants to define it. It eviscerates whatever Trump dislikes, such as corporate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs, or transgender women in women’s sports, or contracts with people or institutions against which Trump holds grudges. In short, this level of intrusion gives the Trump regime potential control over almost every institution and organization in America, every aspect of American life — but indirectly, quietly, and as a default if the leaders of the institution go too far. I’m old enough to remember when conservative Republicans stood for limited government and accused Democrats of wanting too much government. No longer. We’re now at a point in American history when a so-called Republican regime in Washington is extending its control far beyond the wildest dreams of the most left-wing of Democrats — or even socialists. But this control is not exercised publicly. It’s behind the scenes. It’s found in the fine print. And it is personal. It depends on Trump’s whims. This is what fascist control looks like, people. By the way, my memoir of my life and times, entitled Coming Up Short, will be out next Tuesday, August 5. If you wish, you can preorder here from Bookshop.org, which supports local bookstores, or find it wherever books are sold. I wrote it to share what I’ve learned about stopping bullies — at a time in American history when we’re dealing with an authoritarian bully who is encouraging bullying throughout the nation and the world. I hope you find it helpful for understanding how we combat the bullies. And why I believe so passionately that we will.

 

Exclusive: Trump-friendly Teamsters could still object to Paramount merger Ellison's Skydance faces another challenge in getting Paramount merger approved Josh Kosman Jul 12 ∙ Guest post Exclusive reporting provided to MeidasTouch by Josh Kosman of JoshOnBusiness (JOBs). Subscribe to him on Substack here. Amazon workers picket outside the gates of an Amazon fulfillment center during a strike as Teamsters seek a nationwide labor contract Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in City of Industry, California. Ringo Chiu / Shutterstock.com The Trump-influential Teamsters want to protect jobs at CBS parent Paramount which has become the next hurdle in the Ellisons controversial bid to buy the company, JOBs has learned. Paramount earlier this month reached a $16 million settlement with President Trump over his suit alleging voter interference after CBS edited a 60 Minutes interview with Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris.The Teamsters want the Federal Communications Commission to place conditions on Skydance Media’s controversial $8 billion purchase of Paramount. Larry Ellison, worth $280 billion, backs Skydance which his son David runs. Skydance has allegedly not met withTeamsters President Sean O’Brien. Interestingly, the Teamsters and the right-leaning Center for American Rights have partnered on the effort calling on FCC Chair Brendan Carr to save jobs at Paramount’s 15 CBS-owned stations. If Carr does not, there is a real threat that at least one of these organizations will publicly oppose the merger making the Skydance-Paramount tie-up look even more illegitimate, JOBs has learned. The two organizations without worker protections may also push the FCC to consider alternative bids for Paramount like one being floated by Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Project Rise that would pay more to common Paramount shareholders, sources said. “I’d be interested in seeing what their bid looks like,” Daniel Suhr of the Center for American Rights told JOBs. “We are actively engaged with a wide variety of stakeholders.” Lawyer David Goodfriend on behalf of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and its Hollywood Local 399, and Suhr met on July 7 with FCC Deputy Division Chief David Brown and FCC Attorney Chris Robbins, according to an FCC public document. “As part of its process, the FCC owes stakeholders and the American public a robust review of this transaction. Rubberstamping the transaction as-is does not serve the public interest,” Suhr, whose non-profit litigated cases to stop nationwide public health mandates and expand school choice, said in the filing. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention and is known to have real influence with Trump. Suhr believes that the FCC should consider all Paramount alternatives and not just Skydance. The FCC staff is far along in writing its order approving the merger which may or may not be contingent on Skydance accepting certain workforce conditions, a source close to the situation said. It’s ‘up in the air’ whether the FCC will include workplace protections, Suhr told JOBs. “I am optimistic we will see some progress.” “I think we are in 8th and not the 9th inning of the approval process,” Suhr said, partly because the US Senate only confirmed new FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty June 18 and she needs a little time to review all the material on the Skydance merger. The Teamsters and the Center for American Rights have told the FCC what conditions they would like to see placed on the merger, public filings showed. CBS owns 15 local stations. On May 5, the Teamsters said in a letter to the FCC it wanted Paramount to maintain staffing levels as they were on July 7, 2024, when the merger was signed, at its stations --- for eight years --- and not with the use of contractors, temporary workers, or reassignment of duties to part-time or freelance workers The union also called for Paramount to file annual certifications with the FCC demonstrating compliance, including a headcount of full-time employees and a description of any staffing changes with certification signed by a senior officer under penalty of perjury, the filing said. JoshOnBusiness (JOBs) JOBs presents exclusive news, commentaries and videos about business for a Main Street audience. By Josh Kosman Film studio Skydance told analysts last July it planned $2 billion in cuts at Paramount as it developed a creative-tech hybrid media company, one much more focused on artificial intelligence. Shari Redstone’s Paramount is already in cost-cutting mode. Paramount last month said it was going to reduce its workforce by 3.5% after a bigger round of layoffs in August which resulted in almost 15% layoffs, or about 2,000 of its 18,600 global workers. FCC Chair Carr may want to show that this is a legitimate merger review. The Teamsters and Suhr, for somewhat different reasons, want Paramount to preserve jobs at its CBS television stations that includes KCBS in Los Angeles and New York’s WCBS. While the Teamsters want to keep union jobs, Suhr said station newscasts should remain locally run so they reflect the views of their communities especially on CBS owned stations in Dallas, Denver and Pittsburgh where the general population is more conservative than those found in Paramount’s Los Angeles or New York-based headquarters. The concern is an Ellison-run Skydance will streamline local newscasts which will then lose their local flavor, Suhr said. “We’ve suggested treating the CBS owned stations more like bureaus,” Suhr said. “How great would it be to have the best local reporting.” IMPORTANT MESSAGE from MeidasTouch Founder MeidasTouch Network and Ben Meiselas · 11:02 AM Read full story Suhr told JOBs that Ellison and Skydance have refused to meet with his organization or the Teamsters to speak about their concerns. “They haven’t taken up our invitation,” Suhr said. “It’s their loss.” “They would rather negotiate with Chairman Carr than me.” This merger has an air of illegitimacy, perhaps making Carr more interested in showing that he is giving it a serious review, sources said. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) after the July 2 Trump settlement in the 60 Minutes case called for a Congressional inquiry believing it could be construed as bribery “in plain sight” since the suit was “meritless” and Paramount likely needed to please the President to get its merger at the independent FCC approved. There is some recent precedence. Chairman Carr on July 10 approved a T-Mobile agreement in which the telecom company said it would crack down on vendors that hire undocumented workers or independent contractors. Paramount, Teamsters and FCC spokespeople declined comment. Subscribe to Josh Kosman’s Substack JoshOnBusiness here. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. A guest post by Josh Kosman My experience as a business journalist includes the last 16 years at the New York Post and writing the 2009 Penguin book "The Buyout of America" which reveals how private equity firms hurt companies, customers and workers.