President Donald Trump on Wednesday said overwhelmingly negative coverage of him by national television networks should be considered grounds for revoking broadcast licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump defended Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr — whom he appointed to lead the agency earlier this year — after Carr criticized ABC for airing a monologue from its late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that was critical of Trump’s reaction to the shooting death of political activist Charlie Kirk.
“They’re 97 percent against me; they give me only bad publicity and bad press,” Trump complained. “I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr.”
During an interview with a conservative podcaster on Wednesday, Carr made reference to Monday’s monologue and issued a veiled threat to ABC.
“Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean — look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
On Wednesday, two large broadcast station owners, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, Inc, said they were suspending Kimmel’s show from their ABC affiliates. ABC later acknowledged it was putting Kimmel’s program on indefinite hiatus.
Broadcast licenses are not issued to national networks like ABC. Instead, the FCC authorizes local television stations to use public airwaves. In his comments on Thursday, Trump suggested those licenses should reflect how network programming portrays him.
“Look, that’s something that should be talked about for licensing, too,” Trump said. “When you have a network, and you have evening shows and all they do is hit Trump — that’s all they do. If you go back, I guess they haven’t had a conservative on in years, somebody said.”
“They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that,” Trump continued. “They’re an arm of the Democrat Party.”
It was the second time in less than a month that Trump suggested the FCC should pull broadcast licenses of networks that aired content he found personally objectionable.
In a post on his Truth Social platform last month, Trump wrote that ABC and NBC “give me 97 percent bad stories” despite his “very high popularity” and his perceived achievements during his second term in office.
“They are simply an arm of the Democrat Party and should, according to many, have their licenses revoked by the FCC,” Trump wrote. “I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our democracy.”
Though historically independent, the FCC operates within the executive branch — and Carr has positioned himself as one of Trump’s political allies.
“I think Brendan Carr is doing a great job, and I think he’s a great patriot,” Trump said.
The former president has praised ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel’s program. Speaking to reporters earlier in the United Kingdom, Trump dismissed criticism that the move raised free speech concerns.
“Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings, more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk,” Trump said. (Kimmel was not fired, a network spokesperson confirmed.)
In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform, Trump said he wanted the same action from NBC against its late night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.
“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” Trump wrote. “Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!”
