Former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee took fellow conservatives to task on Twitter Saturday over calls to punish late night talk show host Stephen Colbert for a harsh, and, at times, crude, rant he gave on his show Monday night towards President Donald Trump, The Hill reported.
"Calls for FCC to punish Colbert are misguided-don't let gov't decide when speech is ok-let YOU decide by not viewing/buying," Huckabee tweeted, emphasizing the First Amendment's right to free speech.
Some conservatives have called for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to punish Colbert for criticisms he made during a 12-minute rant on his show that included an insulting joke involving Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Twitter, the hashtag #FireColbert was a trending topic about the issue.
Colbert said his Monday rant was in response to the president's interview with John Dickerson on CBS's "Face the Nation" where Trump referred to the show as "Deface the Nation" and later abruptly walked out of the interview.
Responding to complaints about Colbert's rant, the FCC said it would investigate and take "appropriate action." Colbert's rants have helped catapult his ratings upwards against fellow late night hosts after he began his barrage of regular criticisms of the president, according to Newsweek.
Colbert was unapologetic regarding the backlash, saying on Wednesday, "I don’t regret that. I believe (President Trump) can take care of himself. I have jokes. He has the launch codes. So, it’s a fair fight."
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