In his own Truth Social Network, the Donald Trump launched a new attack on Monday (25.08.2025) against media ABC and NBC, arguing that “97% of the news they broadcast are negative”.
“If this is the case, then it is nothing more than a Democratic Party’s offshoot and should, according to many, lose their licenses,” Donald Trump wrote for the two media, adding that it would be “absolutely in favor” of such an action, because the networks are “well”.
This is not the first time the president has multiplied his threats against the media. According to Axios, his government has launched many pressure campaigns: against public broadcasting, against the Associated Press and through research targeting television networks. These methods have fueled fears of political retaliation.
In recent months, ABC and CBS networks have resulted in financial settlements with Trump to close legal disputes. Paramount Global, a parent company of CBS, agreed to pay $ 16 million to settle a lawsuit on an interview with the “60 Minutes”. ABC had reached a similar agreement in December.
A legally complex issue
In practice, national networks are not licensed directly by FCC: only their local stations have licenses. Removing license from a local station would be a long and complicated process, says journalist Sarah Fisher, cited by Axios.
Trump, however, continued his internet attacks, arguing that “corrupt journalism” must be “eliminated” and that networks should “pay very expensive” for the use of public frequencies. In another post, he personally attacked ABC presenter Jonathan Carl and threatened to reopen research on former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Threats already condemned by FCC
In 2023, former FCC president Jessica Rosenwourcell had condemned Trump’s threats to freedom of the press, recalling that the organization “does not recall and will not recall broadcasting simply because a political candidate disagrees or does not disagree.” Its predecessor, Ajit Pai, had also stated in 2017 that the law does not allow for a license based on the content of a newsletter.