‘They only give me bad publicity’: Trump threatens to cancel licence of TV networks critical of him
US President Donald Trump on Thursday hinted that television networks giving his administration “negative” coverage could face action, including the possibility of losing their broadcasting licenses. His remarks came a day after ABC indefinitely suspended its late-night programme Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from his state visit to the United Kingdom, Trump claimed that major US networks were against him “97 per cent of the time.” He, however, did not present any evidence to back the claim, only saying he had “read it somewhere.”
“Again, 97% negative, and yet I won easily. I won all seven swing states,” Trump told reporters. “They give me only bad press. I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their licenses should be taken away.”
Trump’s statement, however, is inaccurate. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), TV or radio networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox do not require government-issued licenses. Only local television stations in the US operate under FCC licensing, the regulator’s website clarifies.
The president also sided with ABC’s decision to cancel Jimmy Kimmel Live!, calling Kimmel “not a talented person” with “very bad ratings.” “Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk,” The Guardian quoted Trump as saying during his UK visit. “They should have fired him a long time ago.”
Why was Kimmel’s show pulled off?
The suspension of the late-night programme followed Kimmel’s monologue in which he targeted Trump and conservative activists. He accused MAGA supporters of trying to distance themselves from Tyler Robinson, who is accused of killing rightwing activist Charlie Kirk. “The Maga Gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said in Monday’s broadcast.
Kimmel also mocked the decision to lower flags at half-mast in honour of Kirk and ridiculed Trump’s response to the activist’s death. In the segment, footage of Trump commenting on Kirk’s murder was edited alongside remarks about a ballroom construction at the White House. “He’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction. It’s demolition, construction,” Kimmel quipped, adding, “This is not how an adult grieves… this is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
Kimmel has long been a vocal critic of Trump and his administration. Representatives of the comedian did not issue an immediate comment following the show’s suspension.