US President Donald Trump has suggested some TV networks should have their licences “taken away”.
The remarks come after pressure from his administration led ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night TV host who suggested that the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in Utah last week was perpetrated by a Trump supporter.
Kimmel’s suspension following the threat of regulatory action has raised concerns the Trump administration was attempting to curtail the free speech of its critics – with other talk show hosts commenting on the row.
“This is blatant censorship,” Stephen Colbert said on his rival CBS show. “With an autocrat, you can’t give an inch.”
Trump spoke about the issue to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday while returning from a state visit to the UK.
“I have read some place that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily [in last year’s election],” the president said.
“They give me only bad publicity [and] press. I mean, they’re getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.”
In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel, 57, had said the “Maga gang” – a reference to Trump supporters who rallied around his Make America Great Again election slogan – was “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them” and trying to “score political points from it”.
Officials in Utah, where Kirk was killed, have said he was “indoctrinated with leftist ideology”.
Kimmel also likened Trump’s reaction to the death of his 31-year-old political confidant to “how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish”.
Kimmel has condemned the attack and sent “love” to the Kirk family in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The FCC’s chair, Brendan Carr accused Kimmel of “the sickest conduct possible” and said firms like the Disney-owned ABC could “find ways to change conduct and take action… or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC”.
FCC chair Carr told Fox on Thursday: “We’re going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest – and if broadcasters don’t like that simple solution, they can turn their licence in to the FCC.”
The FCC has regulatory power over major networks, such as ABC, as well as the local stations that carry their content. Owners of local stations can also influence major networks by refusing to carry shows.
