President Donald Trump on Thursday floated the possibility that TV broadcasters could lose their federal licenses over what he perceives as negative coverage of him, a day after Disney’s ABC yanked “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air.
Speaking to reporters, Trump suggested that the Federal Communications Commission should revoke broadcasters’ licenses, arguing that many late-night hosts appearing on those networks are “against me” and that “they give me only bad publicity, press.”
“I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr,” Trump said on Air Force One, referring to the FCC chairman. “I think Brendan Carr is outstanding. He’s a patriot. He loves our country, and he’s a tough guy, so we’ll have to see.”
Trump also said of evening shows on network TV: “All they do is hit Trump. They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that. They’re an arm of the Democrat Party.”
A day earlier, Trump praised ABC for indefinitely pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after on-air comments its host made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Kimmel faced criticism from Carr, who brought up the idea of ABC’s suspending Kimmel for saying on Monday night’s show that MAGA Republicans were “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with Kirk’s murder in Utah. Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said Robinson grew up in a conservative household and later became influenced by “leftist ideology,” and Robinson’s mother told investigators that “over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to the left,” according to charging documents.
Carr warned during a Fox News interview Thursday afternoon that Kimmel’s suspension was not the “last shoe to drop.”
“This is a massive shift that’s taking place in the media ecosystem. I think the consequences are going to continue to flow,” Carr said.
He made similar comments earlier in the day on CNBC, saying, “We’re not done yet.”
The FCC says on its website that it provides broadcast operating licenses to stations that are “responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license.”
“In exchange for obtaining a valuable license to operate a broadcast station using the public airwaves, each radio and television licensee is required by law to operate its station in the ‘public interest, convenience and necessity,’” it says.
Most stations are required to report how they are meeting licensing requirements.
House Democratic leaders, led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, called on Carr to resign Thursday, accusing him of a “corrupt abuse of power.”
“Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s war on the First Amendment is blatantly inconsistent with American values,” the House Democratic leadership team said in a statement. “The censoring of artists and cancellation of shows is an act of cowardice.”
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