Trump Urges FCC to Investigate NBC and ABC Licenses

President Donald Trump called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its chairman, Brendan Carr, to investigate and potentially revoke the broadcast licenses of NBC and ABC. In a series of Truth Social posts on October 5, 2025, Trump alleged that the networks air content that is overwhelmingly biased toward Democrats and is nearly exclusively negative toward Republicans.

The demands followed an episode of MSNBC's PoliticsNation, hosted by Al Sharpton, featuring Senator Richard Blumenthal. During the broadcast, Blumenthal described Trump's use of the National Guard in Portland as reckless and illegal and criticized Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's plans to deploy ICE agents to the 2026 Super Bowl.

Trump targeted Sharpton specifically, mocking him with an unflattering 1988 photograph and referencing the 1987 Tawana Brawley rape hoax. He also criticized Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts for refusing to remove Sharpton from the air for reasons of political correctness. Trump further claimed that Sharpton's National Action Network received $500,000 from Kamala Harris' campaign shortly before a positive interview with the former vice president.

Reports indicate that the FCC has limited regulatory authority over cable networks such as MSNBC compared to traditional broadcast stations. Additionally, Trump's posts confused NBC with MSNBC and misidentified Brian Roberts' specific corporate role within the NBCUniversal structure.