Trump Suggests Revoking TV Licenses Over Negative Coverage

During remarks aboard Air Force One following his state visit to the UK, President Donald Trump suggested that television networks should face consequences for what he described as overwhelmingly negative coverage of his presidency, The Guardian reports. Trump claimed U.S. networks are “97% against me,” though he did not cite a source or explain how the figure was determined, saying only that he read it “someplace.”

Despite asserting he won “all seven swing states” in the election, Trump floated the idea of revoking broadcast licenses as a potential response to media bias. However, this proposal misrepresents how media regulation works: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses individual local TV stations, not national networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox. According to the FCC, it does not license TV or radio networks.

Nonetheless, Trump argued that networks shouldn’t be permitted to air programming that is critical of him, stating, “That license, they’re not allowed to do that… They’re an arm of the Democratic Party,” as reported by Politico.

Trump also commented on ABC’s recent suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, claiming it stemmed from low ratings and controversial remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “He should have been fired a long time ago,” Trump said, calling Kimmel “not a talented person.”

In contrast, data shows Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 1.77 million viewers in Q2 2025 and led in the key 18–49 demographic, even surpassing The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in that category. Kimmel also has a large digital following, with over 20 million YouTube subscribers.

Earlier Thursday, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr declined to confirm whether the agency would target NBC’s late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers but stated, “We’re reinvigorating the FCC’s enforcement of public interest.”

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