MARYLAND, UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 24: Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr speaks during the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, United States on February 24, 2024. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Anadolu via Getty Images

On Friday afternoon, Brendan Carr took the stage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Grapevine, Texas in order to brag about the Trump Administration’s success in its efforts to punish political enemies as well as news outlets he described as “fake news.”

“When Donald Trump ran for office, he ran directly at the fake news media,” Carr told the audience. “So many other politicians and Americans just gave way to legacy media. They let the legacy media set the narrative. And President Trump smashed the facade."

“He said, ‘You don’t get to decide what we say, what we think, how we’re going to vote inside the voting booth,” Carr continued. "President Trump took on the fake news media. And President Trump is winning. Look at the results so far. PBS defunded. NPR, defunded. Joy Reid, gone from MSNBC. Sleepy-eyes Chuck Todd, gone. Jim Acosta, gone. John Dickerson, gone. Stephen Colbert is leaving, CBS is under new ownership, and soon enough, CNN is gonna have new ownership as well."

“So, we’re not at the point yet where we’re raising the 'mission accomplished’ flag,” Carr added. But President Trump is taking on the fake news media, and President Trump is winning."

Aside from the unsettling sight of the head of the FCC publicly crowing about his successes in punishing media companies and journalists he sees as political enemies, it’s worth noting that Carr’s framing of his and President Trump’s success is more than a bit optimistic.

It’s true that both PBS and NPR have lost federal funding and that has led to the closure of The Corporation For Public Broadcasting as well as cutback at every local station. But both PBS and NPR survive and have had some success when it comes to replacing those lost funds with money from donors.

It’s true that Joy Reid lost her early primetime show on MSNBC. But she was replaced by a show that includes Symone Sanders-Townsend, who was the national press secretary for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, as well as a senior advisor for Vice President Kamala Harris. So not only did Joy Reid’s exit make the replacement show more liberal, it is netting higher ratings than Joy Reid received.

It’s a similar situation with former Meet The Press moderator Chuck Todd. Yes, he was let go by NBC, but that had more to do with flagging ratings than political pressure. But he was replaced by Kristen Welker, who is receiving both higher ratings and critical praise over her perceived toughness when interviewing administration officials.

And while CBS is pushing Stephen Colbert out the door, Cobert’s ratings have surged since that news was announced. And Carr was unable to get of fellow late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, despite threats directed at both ABC and parent company Walt Disney.

Carr and the Trump Administration are also facing pushback over their efforts to speed approval Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of TEGNA, which if approved would combine the nation’s largest and third-largest television-station owners, creating a conglomerate that could reach 80% of U.S. television households.

A week ago, eight state attorney generals filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to stop the merger.

And on Friday, California U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley issued a restraining order that blocks Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of TEGNA for 14 days while a legal challenge brought by DIRECTV works its way through the court.

All of which is a reminder that while David Carr and the Trump Administration have had some successes when it comes to punishing perceived political enemies, the battle is far from over.