Numerous US satirical shows make fun of Donald Trump. As president, he therefore had it checked whether Alec Baldwin, Kimmy Kimmel and Co. could be sued.
Washington – Orange complexion and appropriately primitive linguistic style: Probably not a single Donald Trump impersonator attracted the laughter of fans and the anger of the president like Alec Baldwin on the US satire show Saturday Night Live. And not only this: Other TV shows were also attacked in tweets from the White House, for some a tweet from Trump became almost an accolade. But as the Daily Beast reports, there was more to it: Trump had it checked how he could take legal action against the satirical shows.
“It’s truly incredible that shows like Saturday Night Live (SNL), not funny / not talented, can work on one person (me) all the time, over and over again without mentioning the other side,” sums up a tweet Donald Trump’s anger over the satire show well together. And Trump continued: “Like an advertisement without consequences. Same with the late night shows. Should an election commission and / or the Ministry of Justice have a look? ” What sounds like an absurd question, after all, satire is protected by freedom of expression, was probably actually an idea that Trump was seriously pursuing. Because in discussions in the White House, Trump, as President of the USA “Leader of the free World”, asked his closest advisers how he could proceed against satire.
Donald Trump wanted to take legal action against satirical shows
In early 2019, in one of the talks, Trump asked what the Federal Communications Commission, the courts and, most confusing for the advisors, the Justice Department could do about it. Apparently, Trump wanted an investigation into satire shows like SNL, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and other late night shows. Attendants at the meeting confirmed to the Daily Beast that Trump wanted to neutralize TV programs that were critical of him.
As with almost all of Donald Trump’s anti-liberal-critic schemes, they came to nothing. The Ministry of Justice is simply not responsible in such cases, it said from there. According to sources in the Daily Beast, consultants had to explain several times that there was simply no way of dealing with the satire. Because the right to “equal time”, that is, if, for example, a candidate is reported on, the same time must be made available for his counterparty, does not apply in this case. Because satire shows and late night shows, such as SNL or Jimmy Kimmel Live, are considered entertainment and are clearly marked as such.
US law: Donald Trump cannot do anything against satirical shows
Trump, who had thought about a return to reality TV after the lost election, could have confused the right to “equal time” with the “fairness doctrine”, which obliges the broadcaster to report fairly and balancedly, but this has not been done since 1987 applied more and was officially repealed in 2011. In addition, it only related to controversial issues of public interest.
However, Trump does not really seem to have understood this. Even after he had been assured several times by his legal advisors that there was nothing he could do, he kept asking what could be done about the “unseen,” “smelly,” and “not at all funny” Alec Baldwin and the other shows. Most of the time, according to one of the sources, the answer was that “people would look at it”. Which of course nobody has, because the legal situation was clear to all advisors.
Even though Trump has now been voted out of office, the issue doesn’t seem to let go of him. Apparently he watches even more TV than before. When one of his supporters, pillow sellers and conspiracy theorists Mike Lindell was a guest at Jimmy Kimmel, Trump congratulated him on “really showing” the liberal Kimmel. (as)
Rubriklistenbild: © Will Heath/NBC/AP/dpa
