early and often

Americans Wanted the FCC to Punish CNN for Airing Trump’s Access Hollywood Video

This campaign is rated M for Mature. Photo: Obtained by The Washington Post/Getty Images

Hours after the world first heard Donald Trump and Billy Bush gabbing about sexual assault on an Access Hollywood bus, Republican strategist Ana Navarro shut down fellow CNN panelist Scottie Nell Hughes, who complained that her daughter was being subjected to Navarro’s liberal use of the word “pussy.”

“Will you please stop saying that word? My daughter is listening,” said Hughes. “Don’t tell me you’re offended when I say ‘pussy,’ but you’re not offended when Donald Trump says it,” Navarro responded.

The clip went viral, but it seems many were not persuaded by Navarro’s justification for the lowering of cable-news standards. The L.A. Times reports that more than 20 people filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission over news outlets airing the video in full.

Many of the complaints, which were obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, said children should not be subjected to the word. “I understand that the news media need to make this news but kids are watching and can read,” wrote a viewer in Statesboro, Georgia. “When you put [a derogatory word for vagina] on the top of Don Lemon show on CNN show tonight … come on. How many times do we need to hear this tape or see the video, we get the point. WE know you dragging Donald through the mud. But, let’s not bring the kids into this ok?”

A viewer in Keokuk, Iowa, even threatened to sue, and asked for an update when the complaint went unanswered, saying, “We are considering obtaining a lawyer to bring formal charges against CNN.”

Even if FCC officials agree that Trump’s comments are unfit for cable news, there’s nothing they can do. While the agency sets rules on obscenities for broadcast networks, it has no control over cable channels.

Regardless, the complaints do show that parents get pretty riled up about the prospect of kids repeating awful things Trump says. Someone should make a campaign ad about that.

Americans Wanted FCC to Punish CNN for Airing Trump Video