US President Donald Trump will be on board Air Force 1 talking to reporters on his way to a state visit in the UK on September 16, 2025.
Kevin Lamarck | Reuters
President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that the federal government may revoke his license for a broadcast television network that is “opposed” to him.
Trump’s comments came the day after ABC stopped airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The show is presented for comments made by the host who allegedly linked the murderer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to the Trump Magazine movement.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Kerr had hinted at an ABC broadcast license early on Wednesday. Disney – If they “do not take action against Kimmel,” they would have been in danger.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Air Force 1, Trump said, “I read that the network is 97% against me, but again I won all seven swing states, despite being 97% negative,” referring to his 2024 election victory.
“They give me only bad publicity, the reporting. So they have licenses,” Trump said.
“I think maybe their licenses should be taken away,” Trump said.
The president said the decision was “up to Brendan Kerr.”
Trump specifically mentioned the criticism he got from Kimmel and CBS late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert.
“Look, that’s something to be talked about for the sake of a license,” Trump said.
“You have a network, you have an evening show and all they do is hit cards,” he said. “That’s it. If you came back, I don’t think they’d have conservatives for years, someone said.”
“But when you go back and look, all they do is hit Trump. They’re approved. They’re not allowed to do that. They’re the Democrats’ arm,” he said.
Kerr told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday that “we’re not finished yet” with changes in the “media ecosystem” that are the result of Trump’s election.
“Brendan Kerr is outstanding, I think he’s a patriot,” Trump said.
“He loves our country and he’s a tough guy, so we have to look.”
Broadcast television stations belonging to networks including ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX must obtain a license from the FCC as the content is sent in the air and the viewers are technically free as long as there is an antenna.
It contrasts with cable television networks, where its subscribers pay the viewer to the distributor.
– CNBC’s Lilian Rizzo contributed to this story.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCuniversal, which owns CNBC. Bersant will become CNBC’s new parent company with the Bersant spin-off planned by Comcast.
