President Donald Trump has suggested that major television networks could lose their broadcast licenses if their news and late-night programming portrays him and his political allies in an overwhelmingly negative light.
“If Network NEWSCASTS, and their Late Night Shows, are almost 100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn’t their very valuable Broadcast Licenses be terminated? I say, YES!” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Wednesday.
Trump has repeatedly sparred with prominent late-night hosts and journalists, accusing major media outlets of bias and warning of punitive consequences in response.
Why It Matters
The president has pursued legal action against several high-profile media organizations this year. Earlier this month, he filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, alleging improper editing of one of his speeches used in a 2021 Panorama documentary. In October, he also refiled a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and three of its reporters.
Civicus — a nonprofit that tracks civic space in 198 countries — recently downgraded the United States’ civic freedom rating from “narrowed” to “obstructed,” pointing in part to intensifying political pressure on the press. Trump’s latest remarks have added to renewed concerns about press freedom in the U.S.
What To Know
Trump has raised the idea of revoking broadcast licenses before. He previously argued that certain networks should have their licenses “taken away” after ABC suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over remarks about the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel said Trump supporters had tried to “characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
In September, speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he had seen reports claiming networks were “97 percent against” him.
“I read someplace that the networks were 97 percent against me. I get 97 percent negative, and yet I won it easily. I won all seven swing states, popular vote. I won everything,” Trump said. “And they’re 97 percent against. They give me only bad publicity.
“I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It would be up to Brendan Carr.”
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, responded at the time by saying: “We’re going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest, and if broadcasters don’t like that simple solution, they can turn their license in to the FCC.”
In a separate Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump turned his attention to late-night host Stephen Colbert, calling him a “pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success.”
“Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings,” Trump wrote. “Stephen is running on hatred and fumes—A dead man walking! CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!”
What People Are Saying
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday: “Who has the worst Late Night host, CBS, ABC, or NBC??? They all have three things in common: High Salaries, No Talent, REALLY LOW RATINGS!”
In another post, he wrote: “The Failing New York Times, and their lies and purposeful misrepresentations, is a serious threat to the National Security of our Nation. Their Radical Left, Unhinged Behavior, writing FAKE Articles and Opinions in a never ending way, must be dealt with and stopped. THEY ARE A TRUE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”
What Happens Next
The FCC cannot directly cancel broadcast licenses for major national networks such as ABC, NBC, or CBS. However, it can revoke licenses — or deny renewals — for local broadcast stations that operate as affiliates of those networks.
