Overview

• Posting on Truth Social, the president called ABC and NBC "fake news" and said they should lose their broadcast licenses or pay millions of dollars annually for using public spectrum.
• He claimed the networks run overwhelmingly negative stories about him, asserting they publish "97 percent" unfavorable coverage and labeling them a partisan arm of Democrats.
• The FCC, which issues licenses primarily to local stations, rarely revokes them and not for critical reporting, a process governed by statute and subject to constitutional protections.
• Trump installed Brendan Carr as FCC chair, and the agency has opened inquiries touching Comcast and NBC relationships, fueling concern about regulatory pressure on media outlets.
• The threats follow broader moves against critical media, including cutting federal funds to NPR and PBS and restricting access for reporters from the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press.