D.C. Weighs in on Trump Victory

It took a while Wednesday for bleary-eyed election watchers inside the Beltway to start offering up "official Washington" congratulations and advice for the new administration, but by midday the trickle had turned into a steady flow.

"NAB congratulates President-elect Trump and the new and returning members of Congress," National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith said.

"We look forward to working with the next administration in support of a pro-innovation and regulatory reform agenda that will allow local broadcasting to flourish and reach every viewer and listener, anywhere and any time.”

“I congratulate President-elect Donald J. Trump on his historic victory, as well as all those who participated in this hard-fought election — Republicans and Democrats alike — for putting everything on the line to serve our nation," said Linda Moore, president of TechNet. "With the election behind us, we must now turn to the hard work of governing and addressing the very real challenges and opportunities facing our nation. At TechNet, we believe that there is an opportunity to jumpstart the economy, ensure that Americans have the skills necessary to thrive, and create a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth across the nation  … The innovation industry stands ready to engage with the new Administration, the 115th Congress, governors, and state and local officials to do just that.”

"We congratulate President-elect Trump and are optimistic that major policies supporting innovation, infrastructure and the economy can go forward," said Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro. "Technology and innovation are major drivers of the U.S. economy and provide hope for the future by creating jobs, leading our nation's competitiveness and providing solutions to global challenges."

As President-elect Trump begins work on his economic agenda, we encourage his administration to embrace the Technology Sector Presidential Platform put forward by the technology community. This agenda will help the president-elect pursue our shared goals of stimulating job creation, economic growth and innovation in the U.S." Trump has not released the kind of detailed tech agenda his opponent, Hillary Clinton, did.

"Additionally, the continued Republican majority in the Senate presents an opportunity for Congress to rollback unnecessary rules, tackle high-skilled immigration reform, reduce patent troll extortion, lower corporate taxes and reduce spending.

"We congratulate President-elect Trump and the newly-elected Congress and look forward to working closely with his administration to ensure the United States remains the world's leader in innovation and entrepreneurship."

“The MPAA and its member companies congratulate president-elect Donald Trump and the incoming 115th Congress on their electoral victories," said Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Chris Dodd. "We look forward to working together on a range of issues, including strong copyright laws and tax reform, to promote a vibrant creative economy and a film and television industry that supports nearly 2 million American jobs in all 50 states, makes payments to more than 345,000 small businesses, and generates $16.3 billion in exports.”

"I congratulate President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence on their victory," said Sen. Marco Rubio (D-Fla.), who ran against Trump in the primaries and won reelection to his Senate seat. "They listened to the frustrations and anxieties of the American people after eight years of failure in Washington and earned this opportunity to lead the country. Their victory, along with Republican Senate and House victories across the country, are a clear rejection of business as usual in Washington."

Rubio is a member of the Senate Communications Subcommittee and a big proponent of unlicensed wireless spectrum. 

"It's been a long, tough and hard-fought election, but President-elect Trump struck the right tone last night by asking the country to come together. Whether you voted for him or not, he will soon be our president and our nation can only be successful in the years to come by helping him succeed."

Chip Pickering, CEO of INCOMPAS, the internet and competitive networks association, added his congratulations, appearing to respond to Trump's recent comments that he would block the AT&T/Time Warner merger or would like to unwind the Comcast/NBCU deal.

"This election reflects the mood of the nation," he said, "one that is fed up with Washington’s protection of entrenched market power monopolies at the expense of average Americans who are paying more and getting less for many things, including broadband service.

“It’s time to build America on competition. Today, we need an entrepreneurial economy and competitive society that creates opportunities and jobs for all. Deploying new competitive broadband networks, both wired and wireless, to all Americans, urban and rural, could be an important hallmark for the Trump presidency.  

“President Teddy Roosevelt and President Ronald Reagan had the vision to break-up monopolies and unleash innovation, but Washington has drifted from these principles. President-elect Trump said more competition is a solution to rising health care costs, and he is a vocal opponent of consolidation and market power in the communications and media industry.  These are encouraging signals, and we look forward to working with the Trump Administration and Congressional leadership to make competition principles the catalyst for creating new businesses and new jobs across America.”

"Mobile Future congratulates President-elect Trump on his election, and looks forward to working with his transition team in the days ahead," said Mobile Future Chair Jonathan Spalter. "America’s broadband infrastructure is the very backbone of our economy, and our mobile innovation ecosystem is evolving at breakneck speed. For mobile to continue to play a critical role in supporting America’s global economic leaderships, we are hopeful that President-elect Trump will give his highest priority to fostering a policy environment that encourages confident investment in our nation’s broadband technologies and networks.”

U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) President Mick Cornett asked for a meeting between his leadership and Trump.  

“Please accept our commitment to work with you and your Administration as we move forward together to serve the people of America," Cornett said.

He thanked Trump for emphasizing rebuilding inner cities and infrastructure in his acceptance speech. "“We have no doubt that common ground can be found on these issues so important to the American people,” he said.

“ESA congratulates President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence on their historic victory," said the Entertainment Software Association. "This election once again proves the unique nature of the strongest democracy in the world. Our country faces enormous challenges at home and abroad, and the video game industry and its customers look forward to engaging in policy solutions that unite the country and drive economic growth. The 100 million gamers who voted in this election and 150,000 industry employees who deliver interactive entertainment to them will be looking to President-elect Trump and Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to come together and deliver real solutions on the  important issues we face.”

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.