President Donald Trump said that ABC should lose its broadcasting licenses after a reporter asked him about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. The question came up during a meeting at the White House with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump was clearly unhappy with the reporter’s question and lashed out at the network.
Trump went after ABC News and told reporters that FCC Chair Brendan Carr should look into taking away the network’s licenses. This is not the first time Trump has tried to go after news organizations he thinks are unfair to him, but so far none of his earlier attempts have worked.
“I think the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong,” Trump told reporters at the event, according to Reuters. He said Carr should handle it. Carr had just spent time with Trump in Florida over the weekend, based on what Carr posted online.
This isn’t the first time ABC has been targeted
ABC has been in Trump’s sights before. Back in September, Trump went after the network when he wanted late-night host Jimmy Kimmel taken off the air. Kimmel had made some comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk that Trump did not like. Trump said then that networks should lose their licenses too.
Trump has gone after other TV networks as well. He has called out NBC multiple times and said the network should pay money for using the airwaves. He also told NBC to fire late-night host Seth Meyers because he did not like what Meyers said about him. The president has a history of targeting press organizations when he disagrees with how they cover him.
The FCC gives out licenses to local TV stations, not to big networks like ABC or NBC. These licenses last for eight years. The FCC is supposed to work on its own without political pressure. The agency can take away a license if a station goes against the public interest, but this almost never happens. In fact, it has not happened in over 40 years.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez pushed back hard against what Trump said. “The FCC doesn’t get to decide whether the news coverage of those in power is acceptable,” Gomez explained. She made it clear that the FCC cannot go after TV stations just because of what they report. She called Trump’s threats serious-sounding but ultimately empty.
Back in 2017, Trump’s own FCC chair Ajit Pai turned down a similar request from Trump about NBC. Pai said the FCC does not have the power to take away licenses based on what news stations report. This shows there are strong legal protections for news organizations even when the president is upset with them. Trump has previously threatened legal action against media companies over their reporting.
Published: Nov 19, 2025 12:51 pm