On Friday morning, President Trump predictably weighed in on the controversy following TBS host and liberal comic Samantha Bee calling his daughter, Ivanka, a “feckless c–t.”
Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show? A total double standard but that’s O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2018
Trump’s tweet comes less than a day after Bee and TBS apologized for the segment, which spurred plenty of outrage from all sides of the aisle.
I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.
— Samantha Bee (@iamsambee) May 31, 2018
Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night. Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake too, and we regret it.
— TBS Network (@TBSNetwork) May 31, 2018
So far, TBS has not announced any staffing changes and it does not appear that they intend to fire Bee. However, Trump’s questioning why a host of a private company hasn’t been fired for the use of such a vulgar term to describe his daughter surely comes from a well-meaning personal sentiment. It’s family, after all.
But it gets tricky here, seeing as how Donald Trump is the president. His words (or tweets for that matter) cannot simply come from just a private citizen. They’re deemed official statements from the Office of the President, at least according to the Department of Justice.
Sure, Bee’s show “Full Frontal” is already losing sponsors, and that might factor into her bosses’ decision, but Trump needs to be extremely careful or else he’ll become the type of leader he hates: Barack Obama.
In 2013, former President Barack Obama abused his power, through the Federal Communications Commission, in an effort to convince a private company, the Washington Redskins football team, to change their name. He even said he would change the name, too.
“If I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team — even if it had a storied history — that was offending a sizeable group of people, I’d think about changing it.”
That’s the same type of suggestion Trump is throwing around. While the comment made by Bee is reprehensible, it’s not up to the president of the United States to decide what is and what is not acceptable speech. It’s exactly what the First Amendment was designed to protect.
On top of this, Trump isn’t exactly an angel when it comes to respecting his political opponents and critics. He famously called his Republican foe, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a “pussy.” While that’s not nearly as revolting as calling a woman a “feckless c–t,” Trump isn’t really doing himself any favors.
So, please, Mr. President, just sit this one out.
