Donald Trump’s Latest Target Is Comcast CEO Brian Roberts
Plus, the NFL could ban the Brotherly Shove.
Left: President Donald Trump in, yes, his official inauguration portrait. Because of course. (White House) Right: Comcast CEO Brian Roberts (Getty Images)
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Donald Trump’s Latest Target Is Comcast CEO Brian Roberts
If I were Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, I’d be feeling a little nervous right now, as he’s raised the ire of Bully In Chief — sorry, make that President — Donald Trump.
Comcast-owned MSNBC is considered by many to be left-of-center. And in a post on his social network platform Truth Social this week, Trump slammed Comcast, naming Roberts personally more than once. In reference to Comcast, Trump wrote: “The corrupt operation is nothing more than an illegal arm of the Democrat Party… They should be forced to pay vast sums of money for the damage they’ve done to the country.”
Trump’s attack comes just a couple of weeks after the chair of the FCC made it clear that the agency is investigating Comcast. Why? “I am concerned that Comcast and NBCUniversal may be promoting invidious forms of DEI in a manner that does not comply with FCC regulations,” the FCC’s head wrote in a letter to Comcast “For instance, Comcast states on its website that promoting DEI is ‘a core value of our business.’”
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts (second from left) and then-citizen Donald Trump (second from right) enjoying a round of golf together in Massachusetts during happier times in 2005 (Getty Images)
Comcast hasn’t publicly commented on the mess other than to confirm that the company did receive the letter from the FCC. Something tells me we’ll be hearing a lot more about this in the days, weeks and months to come.
Ironically, Comcast-owned NBC was the network that aired The Apprentice, the TV show that catapulted Donald Trump to superstardom. Would he be president without said superstardom? Seriously doubt it. Thanks, NBC.
The End of the Brotherly Shove?
The Green Bay Packers have asked the league to ban the tush push, the play so favored by the Eagles. You may remember what our first touchdown in the Super Bowl this year was thanks to the tush push, which we tend to call the Brotherly Shove. Supposedly, there are concerns about the tush push leading to injury. But I smell something more like Sore Loser Syndrome here. Keep in mind that we beat the Packers the last two times we played them. Including in the playoffs.
From the Department of Fake News
There’s a story going around (mainly via memes) claiming that the Philadelphia Eagles have rejected Donald Trump’s invitation to visit the White House, an invitation commonly extended to Super Bowl winners. It’s utterly fake news. He hasn’t even invited them. But the team will reportedly accept if invited. We’ll see.
You Can All Rest Easy Now
I’m sure you’ve all been so stressed out about the Philly Portal being inoperable for weeks due to some needed repairs and upgrades. It’s apparently coming back in March.
By the Numbers
$2 billion: Federal grants and loans for Pennsylvania that President Trump froze during his earliest days in office. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro sued the feds earlier this month and spent the weekend in D.C. pressing the issue. And on Monday, Shapiro announced that the administration unfroze the funds.
24,000: Grams of fentanyl authorities say they’ve seized in Kensington since Mayor Parker’s crackdown started nine months ago. Shootings are also down, though it’s worth noting that this is a citywide trend, not just in Kensington. Definitely some progress there, but all you have to do is take a quick drive around the neighborhood, as I recently did, to see that plenty of people are still living on the streets and that open-air drug use remains rampant.
62 degrees: Forecasted high for Tuesday. About the same on Wednesday. (Don’t worry: We’re back to the 30s by this weekend.) I hope your plans for early this week include getting outside.
Local Talent
The book and its author (photos courtesy One Book, One Philadelphia)
Tariq Trotter — aka Black Thought from the Roots — is a gifted rapper. So it shouldn’t be a big surprise that the guy can write. The city just selected his The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are as the “One Book, One Philadelphia” pick for 2025. The idea is that we all read the book, but then there are also seven weeks of events surrounding it, beginning on April 11th. You can borrow the book from your local library, of course. Or buy it here.
Edit note: This story has been updated.
