First Amendment

Trump's Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr seems to think TV stations are legally obligated to please the president.

Jacob Sullum | 7.22.2026 12:01 AM

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Imagine how Republicans would react if a Democratic president reflexively threatened to yank the broadcast licenses of TV stations because he did not like their news coverage or programming decisions. President Donald Trump has been doing that since his first term, and he did it again last week after ABC and NBC declined to offer live coverage of his speech about election security.

These threats are part of an intimidation campaign that has already yielded striking concessions to Trump's whims. His weaponization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is designed to chill constitutionally protected speech, establishing a precedent that Republicans may regret when their opponents take control of the White House.

Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chairman, seems to think broadcasters have a legal obligation to please the president. "Broadcasters must operate in the public interest," Carr declared in March, "and they will lose their licenses if they do........

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