Continuing his crusade against leftist mainstream media outlets ABC and NBC for being “simply an arm of the Democrat Party” and a “threat to our democracy,” President Donald Trump is renewing the threat of revoking their broadcast licenses.
“Despite a very high popularity and, according to many, among the greatest 8 months in presidential history, ABC & NBC Fake News, two of the worst and most biased networks in history, give me 97% bad stories,” Trump wrote in a scathing Truth Social post Sunday night. “If that is the case, they are simply an arm of the Democrat Party and should, according to many, have their licenses revoked by the FCC.
“I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our democracy!!! MAGA,” Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly accused mainstream outlets of unfair coverage and has escalated attacks on media institutions since returning to office. While presidents cannot directly revoke broadcast licenses — which are granted by the FCC to local affiliates, not national networks — Trump’s remarks highlight his ongoing efforts to root out bias in media that are acting as “simply an arm of the Democrat Party.”
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr said in April, while license revocation is an extreme punishment — what he termed the “regulatory death penalty” — it remains within the FCC’s toolkit for broadcasters who fail to serve the public interest.
“Broadcasters have a very unique position in the market when it comes to other entities,” he said. “They are licensed by the FCC. When you license someone to operate, you’re necessarily prohibiting others from using those airways. Because of that, they have a public-interest obligation. And I think over the years, the FCC has largely stepped back from enforcing the public interest standard.
“I don’t think that’s correct. I think given the unique benefits that come from a federal broadcast license, it’s important for the FCC to actually hold these entities accountable to the public interest.
“And there’s a lot of rules and regulations that flow from that news distortion is a piece of it, and I believe that the FCC should be vigorously enforcing the public interest.”
While not direct responses to Trump’s comments, these statements suggest Carr would consider revocation only under severe circumstances, though the legal and constitutional hurdles for such actions remain high.
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