Seth Meyers attends the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater on January 15, 2024 in Los Angeles.
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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images North America
NBC late night host Seth Meyers has always made President Trump the butt of his jokes. The latest elements include Meyers’ teasing about a recent decline in Republican support for the president and his recent comments to Fox News host Laura Ingraham that America doesn’t have enough qualified workers for certain jobs.
NBC late night host Seth Meyers often makes President Trump the butt of his jokes.
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Trump appears to have had enough of Meyers, as have late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.
“NBC’s Seth Meyers suffers from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS),” the president said on Truth Social on November 15. “He was seen last night in an uncontrollable rage, probably due to the fact that his ‘show’ is a ratings disaster. Apart from everything else, Meyers has no talent, and NBC should fire him IMMEDIATELY!”
Less than an hour later, Trump’s tirade was reposted on X by Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the independent agency that regulates radio, television, wire, satellite and cable across the country.
Although the FCC can fine broadcasters for indecency, it has limited authority over content. According to its website, “limitations on the FCC’s power to restrict or prohibit free speech begin with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which decrees that the federal government ‘shall make no law…restricting the freedom of speech or of the press.’
Carr’s rebroadcast drew heavy criticism.
In an email to NPR, Lisa Macpherson, policy director of the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, wrote that Carr’s intervention is “a distortion of FCC authorities in an attempt to force the media to side with President Trump.”
Former Congressman and free speech advocate Justin Amash wrote on
The FCC also oversees large corporate media mergers like the one it recently approved between Paramount Global and Skydance Media. Shortly after Trump called for Colbert to be fired, CBS, which is owned by Paramount Global, announced THE Late Show with Colbert would end in May 2026. In a statement, CBS said the decision was purely financial.
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers is a property of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast, one of the companies expected to bid on Warner Bros. Discovery, a sale that will likely face increased scrutiny from the Trump administration.
NPR has contacted NBCUniversal and the FCC for comment.
