Trump threatens ABC and NBC over "BAD STORIES"
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Donald Trump plays a CNBC news clip on a laptop during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30. Photo: Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images)
President Trump on Sunday suggested news networks ABC and NBC were "AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY" and said he would be "in favor" of the Federal Communications Commission pulling their broadcast licenses.
Why it matters: Trump has long publicly aired complaints about his media coverage. As Axios' Sara Fischer and Christine Wang report, his threats of regulatory scrutiny and private lawsuits against what he claims is the "Fake News" have had very real impacts.
- His administration has crusaded against public broadcasting, singled out the Associated Press and launched probes into broadcasters and stations, sparking fears of political retribution.
- CBS parent Paramount Global paid $16 million earlier this summer to settle a voter interference lawsuit filed by Trump over the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with his rival, former Vice President Harris, and ABC struck a similar deal in December.
Driving the news: Trump claimed on Truth Social Sunday night that ABC and NBC give him "97% BAD STORIES."
- He continued, "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."
- The president did not elaborate on whom these "MANY" sources were, but said he would be "totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!!"
- He separately asserted falsely that he had the highest poll numbers he'd ever received — "[e]xcept what is written and broadcast in the Fake News."
Reality check: National broadcast networks aren't licensed by the FCC — but their local affiliates are.
- However, Axios' Sara Fischer notes that pulling licenses from local affiliates would be an incredibly cumbersome process.
Zoom out: In a separate post, he said "[c]rooked 'journalism'" should be "terminated," writing that the networks "should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG" for using "the most valuable airwaves."
- He questioned why "Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES" weren't levied against the networks.
- In an earlier post, the president took personal jabs at ABC anchor Jonathan Karl's hair, saying he looks "absolutely terrible," and threatened to launch an investigation into former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie over the 2013 "Bridgegate" scandal after he appeared on "This Week" with Karl.
- "It's amazing what bad ratings, on a failed television show that was forced to pay me $16,000,000, can do to one's appearance!" Trump wrote.
- NBC and ABC did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.
Context: This is far from the first time Trump has said networks should lose their broadcast licenses or that media companies should pay a "big price."
- Last year, then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel denounced Trump's "threats against free speech," saying that the "FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage."
- Ajit Pai, who helmed the Commission in Trump's first term, also poured cold water on the president's threats, saying in 2017 that "[u]nder the law, the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast."
Go deeper: Trump targets NYT with new legal threat over CBS News lawsuit coverage
