Trump Suggests Critical TV Networks Should ‘Maybe’ Lose Licenses Following Kimmel Suspension

Trump Suggests Critical TV Networks Should ‘Maybe’ Lose Licenses Following Kimmel Suspension

The President’s remarks follow the decision by ABC to indefinitely suspend comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show. ABC, which is owned by Disney, announced the indefinite pulling of Jimmy Kimmel Live! off air.

RMN News Political Desk
September 19, 2925

US President Donald Trump has suggested that television broadcasters critical of his administration should “maybe” lose their operating licences. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday (September 18) as he returned from a state visit to the UK, the President criticized media outlets for giving him “only bad publicity, press,” adding, “I would think maybe their licence should be taken away”.

President Trump stated that this suggestion comes despite the fact that he won the federal elections “easily,” even though he claimed that “networks were 97 per cent against” him. He noted that he carried “all seven swing states [in last year’s election]” despite the alleged opposition.

The President’s remarks follow the decision by ABC to indefinitely suspend comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show. ABC, which is owned by Disney, announced the indefinite pulling of Jimmy Kimmel Live! off air on Wednesday. This action was taken following backlash from conservative groups and amid pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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Kimmel, 57, had prompted controversy after he criticized President Trump and his supporters for allegedly using the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to “score political points”. Kimmel had also mocked the President’s reaction to Kirk’s death, saying, “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish”.

Following Kimmel’s remarks, FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened an investigation. Before ABC announced the indefinite suspension, Nexstar and Sinclair, which are two of the largest owners of ABC-affiliated stations, had already announced that they would stop broadcasting Kimmel’s program.

The suspension and the administration’s targeting of media outlets drew widespread condemnation. Former US President Barack Obama criticized the suspension, warning that the incident demonstrated a “new and dangerous level” of government coercion. Obama issued a statement shared on X, arguing that, “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like”.

Writers’ and actors’ unions, alongside the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), also condemned the targeting of Kimmel, classifying it as an unconstitutional attack on free speech rights. Rival late-night hosts, including Stephen Colbert, rallied in support of Kimmel, calling the suspension “blatant censorship”.