title:  FCC Rebukes Trump, Refuses To Dismantle First Amendment Over His Petty Tantrums
text: Donald Trump has recently come under fire for his most autocratic charge yet, which is that the free press should be regulated for writing bad things about him. He even mentioned somehow getting rid of their licenses.Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a "tenfold" increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2017Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission, says of Trump s tweets challenging the rights of the free press: I think it s essential that the FCC and all that it does is careful to abide by the First Amendment when it engages in any kind of policies involving broadcast licensees. Rosenworcel went even further when she was questioned about Trump s suggestions that the First Amendment should somehow be impeded from the bully pulpit of the White House: I think it s important to realize that the Supreme Court characterizes our First Amendment as a profound national commitment to having robust, uninhibited and wide open debate and you know, that debate can sometimes be hard hitting for public officials. But it is absolutely essential that we support the first amendment and everything that the FCC does. She went on to say that it is the duty of other FCC commissioners and employees to go public and defend the First Amendment,  no matter what Trump does or says. Rosenworcel made clear what she thought of what the media should do in regards to Trump s tantrums and dissatisfaction with journalists speaking truth to power: I think it s important for all the commissioners to make clear that they support the First Amendment. And that the agency will not revoke a broadcast license simply because the president is dissatisfied with the licensees coverage. Hopefully others in the FCC feel the same way. Donald Trump is taking the first steps to turn America into an autocracy or a dictatorship, and we should not tolerate his antics. In fact, our resisting them could save the republic.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images