President Donald Trump has continued his practice of threatening to revoke broadcast licenses from TV stations that decline to air his speeches or cover him in a manner he finds favorable. This tactic was employed again after ABC and NBC chose not to provide live coverage of his recent speech on election security.

These actions are part of what has been described as an intimidation campaign, which has already led to significant concessions from broadcasters. The campaign involves the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, who asserts that broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate "in the public interest" and risk losing their licenses if they fail to do so.

Carr interprets "the public interest" as requiring broadcasters to cover the president "fully, accurately, and fairly," potentially extending to avoiding war reporting that might embarrass the president and penalizing late-night comedians whose jokes offend him. He justifies this stance by stating that "the American people have subsidized [broadcasters] to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation's airwaves."

President Trump echoed this rationale, claiming broadcasters "use our public, multibillion-dollar-in-value airways for absolutely no money." However, this claim is contested, as broadcast licenses are factored into the prices media companies pay when acquiring TV or radio stations.

Notably, actual revocation of licenses has not been necessary to intimidate broadcasters. An example cited is Trump's filing of a lawsuit alleging that an interview with Harris constituted consumer fraud under Texas and federal law, which served to pressure broadcasters without formal license actions.

This approach has raised concerns about setting a precedent that could affect future administrations, particularly if opposing parties gain control of the White House.

Sources