Trump suggests pulling TV licenses after Jimmy Kimmel suspended

President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that the federal government might revoke the licenses of broadcast television networks that are “against” him.

Trump’s comment came a day after ABC suspended airing the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show because of comments its host made linking the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to Trump’s MAGA movement.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr earlier on Wednesday had hinted that the broadcast license of ABC — which is a subsidiary of Disney — was at risk if it did not “take action on Kimmel.”

Speaking on Thursday to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “I have read someplace that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily, all seven swing states,” referring to his 2024 election win.

“They give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they’re getting a license,” Trump said, according to audio from a press gaggle provided by the White House.

“I would think maybe their license should be taken away,” Trump said.

The president said that the decision “will be up to Brendan Carr.”

Trump specifically referred to criticism he has gotten from Kimmel and CBS late-night talk-show host Stephen Colbert.

“Look, that’s something that should be talked about for licensing, too,” Trump said.

“When you have a network and you have evening shows, and all they do is hit Trump,” he said. “That’s all they do. If you go back, I guess they haven’t had a conservative on in years or something, somebody said.”

“But when you go back, take a look, all they do is hit Trump. They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that. They’re an arm of the Democrat party,” he said.

Carr earlier Thursday told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that “we’re not done yet” with changes in “the media ecosystem” that are consequences of Trump’s election.

“I think Brendan Carr is outstanding, he’s a patriot,” said Trump, who nominated Carr to his position.

“He loves our country, and he’s a tough guy. So we’ll have to see.”

Broadcast television stations affiliated with networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, must receive a license from the FCC to operate because their content is transmitted over the air, and is technically free for viewers as long as they have an antenna.

That contrasts with cable TV networks, whose subscribers pay fees to distributors to watch.

— CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this story.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.