Exclusive: Charlamagne tha God says he would interview Trump: 'Why wouldn't I?'

What they're saying: "I wouldn't have a choice, he got the FCC in his pocket," Charlamagne jokingly told Axios media reporter Kerry Flynn, referring to the Federal Communications Commission's broadcast licensing powers.

• "You still got to sit down and have a conversation with the president of the United States of America," he said, before explaining that the media moguls he grew up watching would interview anyone.
• "Why wouldn't I talk to the president of the United States of America? That is so weird that we're in a time where media is like, 'no, I'm not talking to that person.' ...It's like, that is why we're all so disconnected as a society right now."

Between the lines: FCC chair Brendan Carr warned broadcasters on Wednesday that they could face a government probe for airing polarizing comments that are viewed as insensitive to conservative activist Charlie Kirk's death.

• "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said, as he called on tv stations to pull late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's show.

• Hours later, local TV broadcaster Nexstar announced it would be preempting the show, and then ABC pulled Kimmel off the air entirely Wednesday evening.
• The late-night showdown spurred accusations about the government encroaching on First Amendment rights by limiting free speech, including by other famous comedians and podcasters, such as Wanda Sykes and Marc Maron.

Zoom out: Charlamagne declined to confirm if he'll be renewing his five-year contract with iHeartMedia, which is set to expire this December.

• The podcaster did say he would consider sticking with the company, adding that "nobody does audio better than iHeart."

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