Fighting Trump will make or break the new Disney CEO

A week ago, Disney’s newly appointed CEO, Josh D’Amaro, was busy delighting investors with plans to turn Disney Plus into the company’s “digital hub.” But by last Friday, his attention had supposedly turned to a battle with the Trump administration over free speech.

Disney-owned ABC has now accused management of violating its rules First Amendment rights As the investigation continues The view. Perhaps D’Amaro — the former head of Disney’s parks division — wanted his legacy to be defined by corporate synergies and an upgraded version of Disney Plus. But this battle with Donald Trump and the FCC will likely be what first defines his term.

In it Recent filing with the FCC.The ABC claimed the agency threatened freedom of expression Continuous investigation into it In whether The view It violated the “equal time” rule, which requires radio and television stations to provide competing political candidates with equal access and time. Ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The view It showed clips featuring James Tallarico and Jasmine Crockett — two Democratic candidates from Texas running for Senate seats — and the FCC appeared to take issue with the fact that the show did not invite any Republican politicians to speak on camera.

The ABC recording indicates this The view It was exempt from the equal time rule “more than twenty years ago” because it is a “bona fide news interview program.” The company also insisted on this, by attacking The viewthe FCC is taking action that will “chill fundamental First Amendment-protected speech for years and perhaps decades to come.”

The ABC said: “The danger is that the government will simply decide which views to regulate and which to leave undisturbed.” “In fact, while the committee is now wondering The viewDespite its decades-long exemption, it has expressed no inclination to apply a similar interpretation of the equal opportunity rule to other broadcasters, including the many voices — conservative and liberal — on broadcast radio.

This flavor of bullying from the FCC and Trump-appointed President Brendan Carr It started long before D’Amaro replaced Bob Iger. Relying on the FCC’s news distortion rule, Carr threatened Stripping the broadcast licenses of any station that broadcasts Jimmy Kimmel Live! In response to the late night show Joke about Republican reactions to Charlie Kirk’s death. These threats prompted ABC To withdraw the offer For about a week before that New episodes have started airing again.

It was clear that Disney/ABC were trying to keep the Trump administration happy, but that didn’t stop the president from doing so Calling for Kimmel’s firing again And creating a new headache for Disney. Federal Communications Commission Disney-owned ABC stations recently requested in eight different markets to renew their broadcast licenses by May 28 even though they were not originally scheduled to do so until 2028. While the FCC is specifically targeting The view Now, back in January, The organization indicated It plans to eliminate equal time exemptions granted to other daytime and late-night talk shows more broadly.

In contrast to Disney, capitulating to the Trump administration has served Paramount very well over the past year during its negotiations. An acquisition deal worth $8 billion With David Ellison’s Skydance. It seemed pretty clear that Paramount was trying to curry favor with the Trump administration when the company made the announcement last summer Cancellation The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Paramount He said This move was a cost-saving measure. It would have been easier to believe if the president had not done so History of disagreement with Colbert Through the FCC and if Paramount and Skydance do not need FCC regulatory approval to finalize their mega merger.

History has shown us that no amount of prostration on Disney’s part will stop Trump from going after the company because he sees it as a political enemy. This may not have been readily apparent to Damaro’s ancestors, such as Eger. That happened To pay Trump $15 million in settlement Defamation suit in 2024 — and Bob Chapek, Who refused to condemn “Don’t Call Gay” in Florida The bill even as Disney employees staged strikes over concerns about how the legislation could hurt them personally. But this is a fact D’Amaro cannot ignore now because Trump and his allies are making it abundantly clear with their actions.

in A recent letter addressed directly to DamaroThe FCC’s only Democratic commissioner, Anna M. Gomez, said that by settling with Trump in 2024, Disney “has told this administration that pressure is working.” Gomez explained how all of this highlights the Trump administration’s pattern of hostile behavior, and she was frank about how “the First Amendment does not belong to this administration to grant or to withhold.”

“It belongs to the public, the press, and every broadcaster willing to defend it,” Gomez wrote. “Your journalists do work that matters to millions of Americans across the country, and the viewers who rose up to defend Jimmy Kimmel are the same viewers who will stand up again if the FCC continues its threat.”

Gomez couldn’t be more correct here. The Trump administration is trying to bully ABC and Disney into humiliating submission under the pretext of promoting a healthy and fair media landscape. It’s clear that the President is really only acting in his own self-interest, but that clarity is all the more reason why Disney feels empowered to call bullshit.

ABC’s assertion that the FCC is actively restricting free speech reflects a marked change for Disney, a company that has spent years defending itself. Conservatives attacked him To do things like “wake up”. Telling stories about marginalized groups of people. Damaro saw that Self-censorship And throwing money at the Trump administration won’t stop the president from trying to hurt Disney. Rather than following in the footsteps of his predecessors, D’Amaro seems to realize that the only way forward now is to fight against Trump on the grounds that these matters may eventually end up in the courts.

This situation can turn into an ugly, expensive, and stressful legal battle that no CEO wants to deal with — especially during his or her first year on the job. But if D’Amaro wants to be seen as a CEO who truly believes in his company and his employees, he needs to put on his boxing gloves and be ready to fight no matter how long it takes.