FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has made it his mission to punish licensees who broadcast content that criticizes President Trump and any aspect of his agenda. Both Carr and the President have exercised their personal First Amendment rights to excoriate all national broadcast networks, except FOX, for offenses including failing to carry all news conferences, and using comedy to mock the President and First Lady.
ABC, in particular, has incurred the President’s wrath, and Chairman Carr’s displeasure. The FCC has notified ABS that all of its broadcast licenses will be up for renewal evaluation years before the conclusion of their existing term. On 4 occasions, the Commission has demanded ABC provide evidence that it has not used Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies to disadvantage existing or prospective white employees. ABC has provided over 13,000 pages of materials demonstrating that it has served the public interest, yet Chairman Carr has implied that the network can expect the death sentence.
It appears that ABC has concluded that it no longer can mollify the President and Chairman Carr. The company filed a Complaint For Declaratory And Injunctive Relief in the D.C. District Court seeking judicial termination of the FCC’s accelerated license renewal reviews of ABC’s broadcast licenses. See https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ABC-Complaint-0826-1_Redacted.pdf.
One can dismiss, as predictable bombast, President Trump’s strident suggestion that ABC and the “Fake News Media” should lose their FCC licenses. The President enjoys making over the top suggestions, but the real harm in this case lies with Chairman Carr’s multifaceted strategy to achieve the President’s goals.
Chairman Carr has engaged in much more than expressing an opinion and using “lifted eye brows” to achieve a desired outcome. He has engaged in censorship and unconstitutional behavior by weaponizing the FCC to use its considerable regulatory power to punish lawful conduct. Regardless whether the FCC eventually designates ABC’s licenses for premature renewal review, Chairman Carr already has achieved most of what the President wants: a cowed media that agonizes over any possible action that might tick him off.
Chilling free speech and triggering extraordinary regulatory compliance costs should generate extreme opposition regardless of political affiliation. Unless the Right Wing expects to maintain control of government in perpetuity, there may come a time when a Left Wing president might used the same tactics as President Trump, this time unlawfully sanctioning FOX.
The First Amendment ensures that government, of any political party, cannot censor, punish, and burden content and viewpoints that are not defamatory, threatening, or obscene.
