Donald Trump has threatened to shut down broadcasters, but can he?

As president of the United States, Donald Trump threatened the federally issued licenses of television broadcast outlets that displeased him. Now, in 2024, as a presidential candidate, Donald Trump has reasserted that broadcasters who displease him should lose their federal airwave licenses. A September 2023 post on Truth Social accused NBC of “Country Threatening Treason.” He added, “Why should NBC, or any of the other corrupt & dishonest media companies, be entitled to use the very valuable Airwaves of the USA, FREE?” After the moderators of the ABC presidential debate fact-checked his false statements, he called the network “dishonest” and added them to the target list. Recently, CBS also came in the crosshairs after he did not like an editing decision in a CBS interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded, “the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.”   However, the ability of future FCCs to stand up to such instructions could be at risk.