Trump calls for revocation of ABC, NBC licenses over speech snub
President Donald Trump said TV networks that did not broadcast live his prime time speech on election security should have their broadcast licenses revoked.
CNN, ABC and NBC opted out of livestreaming the speech, in which Trump alleged China illegally accessed millions of voter files as part of a broader effort to manipulate US elections in 2018 and 2020.
Other outlets, including CBS, MS NOW and Fox News, chose to air at least part of the speech. NBC and ABC aired Trump’s remarks on their broadcast channels.
Trump called out NBC and ABC during his speech, accusing the networks of covering up what he called election fraud.
“In a rare move, both NBC and ABC fake news said they would not air this conversation. They knew what it was about,” he said. “Scam like this should mean revocation of their license.”
TV networks are not required to air presidential speeches in prime time. Past presidents have traditionally reserved such major speeches for national crises or critical moments. Outlets traditionally provided live broadcasts, but there were exceptions.
Multiple networks reject coverage of President Joe Biden in 2022 address regarding threats to democracy. ABC, CBS and NBC did not air President Barack Obama’s 2014 primetime speech on immigration.
Trump had previously canceled the broadcast licenses of TV networks whose news broadcasts he found negative. He suggested ABC should lose its license after late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended following the death of Charlie Kirk. And in a social media post In December, he argued that the broadcast licenses of networks whose coverage was “almost 100% negative” should be “terminated.”
But Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr has limited authority to unilaterally revoke broadcast networks’ licenses, protected both by the Communications Act’s restrictions on how the FCC reviews licenses and by the First Amendment.
The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
