United States President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, throughout a supper at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2025.|Image Credit: TOM BRENNER
United States President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday stated that transmitting licences utilized by affiliates of Walt Disney’s ABC need to be “removed” after he disagreed with a concern positioned by a press reporter for the network. Trump made the remark after a press reporter for ABC News asked Trump about the Jeffrey Epstein political scandal throughout an Oval Office occasion with the Saudi crown prince.
“I believe the licence ought to be eliminated from ABC, since your news is so phony and it’s so incorrect,” Trump stated.
Trump’s remarks were his newest effort to pressure regulators to target a media outlet that has actually drawn his ire, however to date he has actually had little success. Trump applauded Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, whom he had actually tapped to lead the company in January. “He ought to take a look at that,” Trump stated of getting rid of the licences.
Carr went to with Trump in Florida this weekend, according to a social networks post from Carr.
It was the 2nd time in current months that ABC has actually remained in Trump’s cross-hairs.
Trump in September applauded Republican Carr after he pressed broadcasters to take ABC late-night talk program host Jimmy Kimmel off air after Kimmel made remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump likewise recommended that broadcasters’ licences need to be removed.
Trump has actually consistently contacted the FCC to withdraw the station licences of ABC and Comcast-owned NBC and charge them for utilizing the general public airwaves.
The FCC, an independent federal company, concerns eight-year licences to private broadcast stations, not networks. The FCC can withdraw a licence under a hardly ever utilized public interest requirement, however it has actually refrained from doing so for more than 4 years.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez declined Trump’s dangers. “The FCC does not get to choose whether the news protection of those in power is appropriate,” Gomez stated. “It has neither the legal authority nor the constitutional right to pursue broadcasters for their journalism. These hazards sound threatening, however they’re empty.”
Previously this month, Trump got in touch with NBC to fire late-night talk program host Seth Meyers and criticised the host’s satirical monologue. In July, the FCC authorized the $8.4-billion merger in between CBS moms and dad Paramount Global and Skydance Media, after Skydance accepted guarantee CBS news and home entertainment programs is devoid of predisposition, and to work with an ombudsman for a minimum of 2 years to evaluate grievances and end variety programs.
The approval came quickly after Paramount accepted pay $16 million to settle Trump’s claim versus CBS over its modifying of a “60 Minutes” interview with his Democratic governmental challenger Kamala Harris.
Home Democrats are examining. In January, Carr had actually restored grievances the Harris CBS interview, how ABC News moderated the pre-election televised dispute in between then-President Joe Biden and Trump, and Comcast-owned NBC for enabling Harris to appear on”Saturday Night Livequickly before the election.
Trump’s very first FCC chair, Ajit Pai, in 2017 had actually turned down Trump’s calls to withdraw NBC licences over the material of a report, stating the company “does not have the authority to withdraw a licence of a broadcast station based upon the material.”
Released on November 19, 2025
