Donald Trump He demanded the revocation of NBC and ABC's broadcasting licenses, after they refused to alter their schedules to broadcast his address live from the White House. The US president accused the two networks of participating in a "conspiracy" to prevent Americans from hearing his statements on election security.
NBC and ABC are maintaining their programs
Donald Trump spoke on Thursday, July 16, from the East Room of the White House, in a roughly 24-minute address primarily focused on the US elections. This speech was delivered less than four months before the midterm elections, which will renew part of Congress.
NBC and ABC chose to maintain their regular programming on their main networks. ABC notably aired the game show Press Your LuckWhile NBC aired a program dedicated to animals, both networks broadcast the entire presidential address on their digital platforms, NBC News NOW and ABC News Live. ABC also broadcast it on its radio station. CNN did not broadcast the speech live on its television channel either. The network followed the address and offered video access on its digital services, while maintaining its regular political programming with real-time commentary and fact-checking.
"Their licenses should be revoked."
Donald Trump directly attacked NBC and ABC during his speech. He accused them of refusing to grant him national coverage on their traditional networks. : "In a rare move, both NBC and ABC Fake News announced they would not cover the speech. They knew what it was going to be about. Fraud of this kind should result in the revocation of their licenses."
The president then accused the media outlets in question of participating in an organized operation against him and his accusations regarding the functioning of the American electoral system. : "They and other media outlets are part of a conspiracy. They want to continue this fraud, whatever the reason. They are using our public frequencies, which are worth billions of dollars, without paying a cent. All we want is honesty in our elections and in the news."
Fox broadcasts the entire speech, CBS cuts it off before the end
Fox News and several local Fox affiliates broadcast the entire address. CBS also interrupted its programming, but only for a partial broadcast. Before handing the airwaves back to Donald Trump, anchor Tony Dokoupil warned viewers that several of the president's earlier claims about the election were false. CBS cut away from the speech after about 15 minutes to fact-check statements made from the White House. MS NOW aired part of the address before returning to its commentary. At the end of the speech, Fox News was the only major national network still broadcasting the entire address live.
Donald Trump accuses China of election interference
The US president devoted most of his remarks to election security and accusations of Chinese interference. He announced the declassification of intelligence that, according to him, would show that China attempted to disrupt the US elections. Donald Trump also reiterated his accusations regarding the 2020 presidential election, won by Joe BidenPrevious assessments by US intelligence agencies have not established that Beijing altered the election results. No evidence has been found to support the claim that any fraud changed the outcome of the election. The president briefly addressed the US-Israeli war against Iran and the American economic situation before speaking at length about voting, voting machines, and voter identification procedures.
The White House had put pressure on the networks
Before the address, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had publicly asked the major networks to broadcast the speech. She presented it as an important statement for all Americans. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, also believed that television networks should broadcast the president's remarks. Appointed by Donald Trump, he is leading several investigations into the practices of major networks, including ABC and NBC.
ABC is already facing legal proceedings related to certain political broadcasts, including The ViewNBC and its parent company Comcast are also the subject of an investigation into their internal diversity policies. Donald Trump regularly attacks both groups and accuses them of systematically conducting hostile coverage of his administration.
The FCC issues licenses to local stations
ABC and NBC do not each possess a single national license that can be revoked with a single action. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issues individual licenses to local stations that broadcast over the air. It does not directly issue licenses to the national networks ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox. Any revocation proceedings would therefore have to target specific stations, particularly those directly owned by the Disney group for ABC or Comcast for NBC. The decision would depend on the FCC and could trigger a major legal battle concerning freedom of the press and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The FCC itself acknowledges that its power over the editorial content of the networks remains limited.
