Telecom, Media Cash Not Poised to Bolster Trump Presidential Bid

Clinton unveiled Thursday several telecom and tech heavyweight endorsements (see 1606230070), including by officials who favored Republicans in the primary. “I’ve supported every Republican Presidential candidate since 1976, and was honored to work for two of them,” said AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Jim Cicconi, who donated to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush last year. “But this year I think it's vital to put our country's wellbeing ahead of party." Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who donated to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the GOP primary, agreed. “Trump would destroy much of what is great about America,” Hastings said. “Hillary Clinton is the strong leader we need, and it's important that Trump lose by a landslide to reject what he stands for." Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt also was among Clinton backers.

The unpredictability of Trump “certainly should trouble broadband companies -- or any industry, for that matter,” TechFreedom President Berin Szoka told us. “So it’s not unimaginable that some telecom companies would prefer the devil they know over unpredictability. Trump would hard pressed to outdo President [Barack] Obama when it comes to politicizing the FCC, but he just might.”

Hal Singer, a principal at Economists Inc., agreed and doesn’t predict “a significant amount” of telecom and tech industry money heading Trump’s way. Trump “has not demonstrated any sort of interest or policy priorities” in those areas “and his authoritarian views are likely repugnant to many social liberals and libertarians” active in that space, Singer said. Economists Inc. lists AT&T and Comcast among clients.

“I would hope it means more money available for Senate races,” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters of the Trump fundraising total, chuckling. “Everybody benefits when the entire ticket does well. And so I hope that he’ll be able to pick it up and you know, the [Republican National Committee], the Senate committee, the House committee, and our individual candidates, realize what’s at stake. And I know for our efforts here, we’re very focused on keeping our majority in the Senate. So we’re aggressively trying to raise money for Senate races. And hopefully what he does in his campaign will complement that.” Thune, the third-ranking Republican in Senate leadership, is fighting for re-election to a third term this year.

The idea of a Trump presidency remains baffling to telecom prognosticators struggling to understand where he will fall on key industry issues (see 1603070038).

Clinton's Telecom Backers

Other officials the Clinton campaign touted Thursday include Dish Network co-founder Candy Ergen; Entravision Communications Corporation CEO Walter Ulloa; IAC Chairman Barry Diller, who last year donated $2,700 to Christie; Qualcomm founding chairman Irwin Jacobs and Executive Chairman Paul Jacobs; Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson, now chairman of RLJ Co., and BET Chairman Debra Lee of Viacom; and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. Some have long backed Clinton's campaign. Jacobs donated $2,700 in August. Several major players in the telecom and media space flocked to Clinton’s campaign last year during the primary season, which was seen then as typical of Washington’s establishment tendencies (see 1507210050).

Donations from telecom industry heavyweights to Clinton continue. NCTA Deputy General Counsel Diane Burstein and Vice President Lisa Schoenthaler wrote a $1,000 check each for Clinton in March, and Senior Vice President Rick Chessen made multiple donations this year. Telecommunications Industry Association Senior Vice President James Reid, a former Democratic Senate staffer, donated to Clinton in March. CTIA General Counsel Tom Power and MPAA CEO Chris Dodd, a former Democratic senator, donated $2,700 each to Clinton in December. RIAA CEO Cary Sherman donated the same maximum amount to Clinton last summer. Clinton has said she’s open to the FCC’s use of Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband in its net neutrality order, a key point of objection for many ISP officials (see 1504160034).

The Communications Workers of America is pivoting its support from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who vied for the Democratic nomination and had received CWA’s formal endorsement, to Clinton.

“Bernie is not going to be the nominee,” President Chris Shelton told CWA members at its legislative-political conference in mid-June. “[Clinton] is the candidate who is running against Donald Trump, and brothers and sisters, we must stop Donald Trump from becoming president of the United States of America.” He blasted Trump as “hateful, simple-minded” and “an international embarrassment,” full of “pure, unadulterated bullshit.” Clinton isn't perfect but walked the Verizon strike picket line, Shelton said, listing many positions of hers that he favors. “Defeating Donald Trump will be our priority until Nov. 8.”

Other Republicans Favored

More recent Trump filings show no apparent major telecom and tech donors, and right-leaning executives favored other GOP candidates. President Shane Linse of Big Sky Communications and Cable is one of few industry officials to donate to Trump last year (see 1510190060). Facebook board member Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist, is a Trump delegate, as is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. On the Communications Subcommittee, Reps. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., and Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., have backed Trump. The Trump campaign promised more robust fundraising results next month: “The campaign held its first campaign fundraising event on May 25th, 2016,” a news release said. “The campaign’s fundraising has been incredible and we continue to see a tremendous outpouring of support for Mr. Trump and money to the Republican Party.” The Trump campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Many industry officials initially donated to Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on the Republican side, although during the primary, Trump dismissed the idea of donations and sought to self-fund. NAB CEO Gordon Smith, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure and former DirecTV CEO Michael White all donated to Bush. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson favored Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge donated the maximum to Ohio Gov. John Kasich in November. CTA President Gary Shapiro, who last year donated to Rubio, doesn’t back Clinton but harshly slammed Trump’s candidacy (see 1606170031). Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins donated to Rubio.

Telecom and media companies’ political action committees haven't favored Trump, according to records from the Center for Responsive Politics. NCTA’s PAC spent $1,000, Verizon’s $2,000, AT&T’s $3,000 and 21st Century Fox’s $3,500 on Rubio’s presidential bid, with no donations to any other candidates of either party. Facebook’s PAC also gave Rubio $4,000 in the 2016 presidential cycle. CenturyLink’s PAC gave $2,700 to Clinton and $5,000 to ex-GOP presidential contender Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin.

Singer speculated Trump could vow to dismantle FCC Title II net neutrality rules as an attempt to win over telco and cable support. “Even then, there is no guarantee this would attract the amount of support” that “he would need to mount a significant campaign,” Singer cautioned.

“The FCC is a uniquely dangerous agency because it has claimed sweeping discretion to do whatever it wants in the name of the ‘public interest’ -- and can use those powers to regulate the very organs of free speech in America,” said Szoka, who opposes many of the big-ticket telecom actions taken under the Obama administration. “Donald Trump has talked about ‘opening up’ the libel laws so he can silence his critics in court. He’s also repeatedly fulminated about how Jeff Bezos would ‘have such problems’ under his administration, referring to Bezos's ownership of The Washington Post. Yet Trump has also shown a willingness to renegotiate past heat-of-the-moment statements.”

A Trump FCC “could use the FCC’s vast discretion to carry out political retribution,” Szoka warned. “A Trump chairman could simply bypass all four the commissioners for much of what the agency does, operating through delegated authority at the bureau level -- especially at the Enforcement Bureau. And just as [former Republican FCC Chairman] Kevin Martin worked with Democrats when it suited him, Trump's chairman could run the agency through shifting coalitions, using Democrats to get what he wanted -- even if that violating free market principles, especially if it meant getting revenge at Trump critics on the right like Cicconi.”