President Donald Trump slammed NBC and ABC for unfair coverage of conservatives and questioned why they aren’t paying “millions of dollars” in licensing fees.
Trump has a history of distrust in the media, often calling his opponents in the space “fake news.”
“Why is it that ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the absolute worst and most biased networks anywhere in the World, aren’t paying Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES,” Trump wrote on social media Sunday night. “They should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!! Crooked ‘journalism’ should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!”
Prior to that post, Trump said that the networks “give me 97% BAD STORIES,” and demanded that their licenses should be revoked.
“IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC,” he wrote on social media. “I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!!”
Trump sued ABC journalist George Stephanopoulos, whom he still mocks with the made-up last name “Slopadopolus,” after he said that the president was found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.
The president was never charged with rape, though his civil case against Carroll found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. As a result of Trump’s lawsuit against Stephanopoulos, ABC was ordered to pay $15 million toward the president’s presidential library and posted a statement expressing its regret for the journalist’s statement.
As for Trump’s recent statements, it’s unclear if FCC chairman Brendan Carr would fulfill the president’s demand. It’s very likely that an attempt to do so would result in hefty lawsuits from the media giants.
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Carr did open an investigation into Disney and ABC for their DEI practices earlier this year. The Trump administration has stripped the federal government of DEI practices.
“While Disney started as an iconic American company, it recently went all in on DEI. I am concerned that their DEI practices may violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination,” Carr said.