Trump says TV networks covering him negatively should “maybe” have their licenses revoked

President Trump on Thursday floated revoking TV broadcast licenses for networks that cover him negatively, a day after ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.

“They give me only bad publicity or press,” the president said of the broadcast networks on the flight back from London. “I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr,” who is the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

On Wednesday, ABC yanked Kimmel’s late-night talk show over a monologue comment about the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination, hours after Carr had told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that Kimmel’s comments were “a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” which owns ABC. Kimmel had said “the MAGA gang” was trying to portray Kirk’s killer as “anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” 

In a social media post Wednesday night, the president praised ABC for its decision, and said the other network late-night comedians, NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, should also be off the air. CBS News has reached out to NBC News for comment. 

Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One, “If you go back, I guess they haven’t had a conservative on in years or something, somebody said, but when you go back and take a look, all they do is hit Trump,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that.” 

The FCC, an independent agency, issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations, many of which are owned and operated by television networks. On its website, the FCC says the “First Amendment and the Communications Act expressly prohibit the Commission from censoring broadcast matter.” It also states that the commission’s role in overseeing content on the airwaves “is very limited.” 

The president praised Carr, who’s being criticized by some conservatives who say he went too far in pressuring ABC. 

“I think Brendan Carr is doing a great job,” the president told reporters. 

It’s not the first time Mr. Trump has floated canceling broadcast licenses.  

Last month, the president said NBC and ABC “give me 97% BAD STORIES,” and he would be “totally in favor” of revoking their FCC licenses.