“They’re not allowed to do that,” said Trump. (They’re allowed to do that.)
ABC suspended the show Jimmy Kimmel Live indefinitely on Wednesday under pressure from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, setting off a national discussion about whether the president should be able to dictate what Americans see on TV.
And Trump made his threats against free speech even more explicit Thursday, telling reporters that any TV channel that was critical of him should lose its broadcasting license.
Trump was asked on Air Force One about Carr, who had made threats against ABC while speaking with MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson.
“Mr. President, are you going to ask Brendan Carr to weigh in on other late-night hosts that you have asked that should be on the air?” one reporter asked, according to video posted to the White House YouTube channel.
Trump responded that the networks only give him “bad publicity” and were “97% against” him, without citing a source or clarifying what he meant. Trump rambled about how he won so many states in the 2024 presidential election, apparently trying to contrast that with how people talk about him in the media.
And then he praised the FCC chair while saying that people who give him bad publicity should have their broadcasting licenses revoked.
