Donald Trump Calls for Revocation of NBC and ABC Licenses

President Donald Trump called for the revocation of broadcast licenses for NBC and ABC in a series of Truth Social posts, labeling the networks as an arm of the Democratic Party. The president specifically targeted NBC, claiming its viewership had dropped nearly 28% this year and describing its programming and management as terrible. However, ratings data from NewscastStudio indicated that NBC Nightly News actually saw audience growth in the second quarter of 2025.

These attacks followed a 16 million dollar settlement paid by Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, to resolve a 20 billion dollar lawsuit filed by the president over a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump characterized the settlement as a victory over the fake news media and warned other outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, that they are on notice. He also filed a 10 billion dollar lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal regarding a report on Jeffrey Epstein.

While the Federal Communications Commission has historically stated it lacks the legal authority to revoke licenses based on news content, FCC Chair Brendan Carr defended the administration's practice of questioning whether media companies cover the news fairly. This pressure follows a pattern of attacks by the president against major networks dating back to 2017.