Trump, once again, threatens TV stations. Will FCC chief follow through?
<p>Imagine how Republicans would react if a Democratic president reflexively threatened to yank the broadcast licenses of TV stations because he did not like their news coverage or programming decisions. President Donald Trump has been <a class="Link" href="https://reason.com/2026/01/18/how-the-fcc-became-the-speech-police/" target="_blank" >doing that</a> since his first term, and he <a class="Link" href="https://reason.com/2026/07/17/trump-threatens-to-revoke-abc-and-nbc-licenses-for-not-broadcasting-his-election-speech/" target="_blank" >did it again</a> last week after ABC and NBC declined to offer live coverage of his <a class="Link" href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/07/politics/annotated-transcript-trump-speech-us-election-vis/" target="_blank" >speech</a> about election security.</p><p>These threats are part of an intimidation campaign that has already yielded striking concessions to Trump's whims.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>Imagine how Republicans would react if a Democratic president reflexively threatened to yank the broadcast licenses of TV stations because he did not like their news coverage or programming decisions. President Donald Trump has been <a class="Link" href="https://reason.com/2026/01/18/how-the-fcc-became-the-speech-police/" target="_blank" >doing that</a> since his first term, and he <a class="Link" href="https://reason.com/2026/07/17/trump-threatens-to-revoke-abc-and-nbc-licenses-for-not-broadcasting-his-election-speech/" target="_blank" >did it again</a> last week after ABC and NBC declined to offer live coverage of his <a class="Link" href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/07/politics/annotated-transcript-trump-speech-us-election-vis/" target="_blank" >speech</a> about election security.</p><p>These threats are part of an intimidation campaign that has already yielded striking concessions to Trump's whims. His weaponization of the Federal Communications Commission is designed to chill constitutionally protected speech, establishing a precedent that Republicans may <a class="Link" href="https://reason.com/2025/09/24/trumps-vision-of-broadcast-regulation-is-a-threat-to-conservatives/" target="_blank" >regret</a> when their opponents take control of the White House.</p><p>Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chairperson, seems to think broadcasters have a legal obligation to please the president. "Broadcasters must operate in the public interest," Carr <a class="Link" href="https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/2032855414233047172" target="_blank" >declared</a> in March, "and they will lose their licenses if they do not."</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-center><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-560000" name="module-560000"></a> <div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody">Send letters to <a class="Link" href="mailto:letters@suntimes.com" target="_blank" >letters@suntimes.com</a>.
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- What's the story?
- <p>Imagine how Republicans would react if a Democratic president reflexively threatened to yank the broadcast licenses of TV stations because he did not like their news coverage or programming decisions. President Donald Trump has been <a class="Link" href="https://reason.com/2026/01/18/how-the-fcc-became-the-speech-police/" target="_blank" >doing that</a> since his first term, and he <a class="Link" href="https://reason.com/2026/07/17/trump-threatens-to-revoke-abc-and-nbc-licenses-for-not-broadcasting-his-election-speech/" target="_blank" >did it again</a> last week after ABC and NBC declined to offer live coverage of his <a class="Link" href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/07/politics/annotated-transcript-trump-speech-us-election-vis/" target="_blank" >speech</a> about election security.</p><p>These threats are part of an intimidation campaign that has already yielded striking concessions to Trump's whims.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 2m ago.
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Trump, once again, threatens TV stations. Will FCC chief follow through?
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times