Donald Trump didn’t hold back while sharing his feelings about NBC and ABC’s coverage of his second presidential term so far.
“Despite a very high popularity and, according to many, among the greatest 8 months in Presidential History, ABC & NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the worst and most biased networks in history, give me 97% BAD STORIES,” he wrote in a late-night Truth Social post on Sunday, August 24. (The Media Research Center reported earlier this year that 92 percent of ABC, NBC, and CBS’s coverage of Trump from January through April was negative, per Fox News.)
“IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC,” Trump continued. “I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!! MAGA.”
National networks such as NBC, ABC, and CBS do not hold FCC licenses. However, the FCC does have control over the major networks’ local broadcast affiliates.
In a follow-up Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “Why is it that ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the absolute worst and most biased networks anywhere in the World, aren’t paying Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES?”
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Trump stated that NBC and ABC “should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!!”
He concluded his nighttime social media rant by writing, “Crooked ‘journalism’ should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!”
Trump shares connections to both networks. His famous reality series The Apprentice aired on NBC from 2004 to 2017. Last year, ABC settled a defamation lawsuit with Trump for $15 million.
Trump has found himself wrapped up in drama with CBS following the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last month. Though CBS stated the cancellation was a financial decision, some have speculated that it was axed as a result of Paramount’s $16 million lawsuit settlement with Trump. He previously accused 60 Minutes of heavily editing a 2024 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump shut down rumors that he was responsible for The Late Show’s end in a July 29 Truth Social post, writing, “Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true! The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!”
He went on to claim that Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon‘s late-night series are the next to be canceled, adding, “The only real question is, who will go first? Show Biz and Television is a very simple business. If you get Ratings, you can say or do anything. If you don’t, you always become a victim. Colbert became a victim to himself, the other two will follow.”
