Trump suggests pulling TV licenses from critics
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Trump steps off Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews after attending the U.S. Open men's final in New York. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
President Trump said networks giving him negative coverage may deserve to have their licenses revoked, ramping up threats administration officials have made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing.
Why it matters: Trump's threat came a day after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show over remarks about conservative's response to Kirk's death, a move critics already see as government-driven censorship.
Driving the news: In an impromptu gaggle aboard Air Force One, President Trump said it was "pretty amazing" he could win the election despite what he claimed was "97% negative" media coverage, according to audio provided by the White House pool.
- "I have read someplace that the networks were 97% against me," Trump said. "… They give me wholly bad publicity, press. They're getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away."
- Trump said he'd leave the decision to Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, who has already threatened license action against broadcasters airing what he calls "distorted" content, specifically citing Kimmel's remarks about Kirk's killing.
Zoom in: National networks don't hold FCC licenses, so Carr has pressured their local stations instead.
- Soon after Carr's comments, Nexstar, a major local broadcast group, said it would no longer air the show. ABC then suspended Kimmel's show "indefinitely."
The other side: FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the five-member panel, said Thursday that Carr's pressure campaign goes against the agency's mandate and has no legal basis.
- "The FCC doesn't have the authority, the ability or the constitutional right to revoke a license because of content," Gomez said at an Axios event Thursday.
Between the lines: Even without formal action, the threats themselves can shape corporate decisions. ABC's swift suspension of Kimmel, after Nexstar affiliates preempted his show, shows how regulatory pressure can ripple through boardrooms.
What they're saying: Former President Obama called the administration's threats "government coercion," saying Trump officials have "taken [cancel culture] to a new and dangerous level."
- "This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent," Obama posted on X.
Go deeper: Obama calls Jimmy Kimmel suspension "government coercion"
