Trump roasts Al Sharpton with throwback pic as he claims Comcast is ‘afraid’ to cancel his show
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump took aim at Rev Al Sharpton, Comcast boss Brian Roberts, and the whole NBC crowd on Sunday, October 5.
Trump kicked things off by posting a throwback photo of Sharpton from 1988, where the future MSNBC host is noticeably heavier, decked out in a red shirt, suspenders, and a gold chain.
Trump roasts Al Sharpton and NBC
“I knew Al Sharpton for many years, not that it matters, but he was a major ‘TRUMP’ fan,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “He’d ask me to go to his fake Rallies all the time, because I brought BIG Crowds, and he couldn’t get anybody to come without me.”
“Then he did the Tawana Brawley Hoax, one of the worst Low Level Scams in History, and that set him back, BIG TIME!” Trump said, referencing the 1987 case where 15-year-old Tawana Brawley falsely accused four white men of rape. Sharpton helped promote that case, only to have it unravel spectacularly.
After revisiting the old Sharpton saga, Trump set his sights on Comcast and NBC.
“Then he got to know Brian Roberts, Chairman of Fake News NBC, who gave him what would become one of the Lowest Rated Shows in Television History,” Trump said, taking a swing at Sharpton’s long-running 'PoliticsNation' on MSNBC. “Roberts is afraid to take him off because it wouldn’t be ‘Politically Correct.’”
However, Trump appears to have mixed up his networks. Sharpton’s show airs on MSNBC, not NBC. Meanwhile, MSNBC is currently being spun off from NBCUniversal into a separate company by parent firm Comcast.
Regardless, that didn't stop Trump from completing his rant. “This is just one of the many reasons that the Federal Communications Commission should look into the license of NBC, which shows almost exclusively positive Democrat content,” he added. “Likewise, ABC Fake News — About the same thing, 97% negative to Republicans!”
Al Sharpton's alleged $500K payout from Kamala Harris
Sharpton has been on the hot seat lately over a report that Kamala Harris’ 2020 campaign funneled $500,000 to his nonprofit right before a very friendly interview.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, Harris’ team allegedly cut two checks (one for $250,000 on September 5 and another for $250,000 on October 1 in 2024) to Sharpton’s National Action Network.
Sharpton sat down with Harris just weeks later for a gushing TV chat on October 20, calling her campaign “extraordinary” and “historic,” while branding Trump “hostile and erratic.”
The payments raised plenty of eyebrows, especially since MSNBC once suspended 'Morning Joe' host Joe Scarborough for donating a measly $4,000 to a few political campaigns back in 2010. This time, though, MSNBC stayed radio silent.
Trump’s ongoing war with TV networks
That said, this wasn’t the first time Trump has threatened to yank TV licenses over what he sees as biased coverage. Last month, he openly floated the idea of stripping licenses from broadcasters.
"They give me only bad publicity or press," the president said of the networks. "I mean, they're getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr," referring to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
For the record, the FCC doesn’t actually work that way. The independent agency issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations (not networks) and can’t censor content by law.
“The First Amendment and the Communications Act expressly prohibit the Commission from censoring broadcast matters," the agency's website states, adding that its authority over what goes on air “is very limited.”
Still, that hasn’t stopped Trump from calling for action. Back in August, he said NBC and ABC “give me 97% BAD STORIES” and that he’d be “totally in favor” of pulling their licenses.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online
