Donald Trump has suggested that television networks which criticize him should be punished and stripped of their licenses, claiming—without evidence—that 97% of them are against him.
“Again, 97% negative, and yet I won easily. I won all seven swing states,” Trump said. “They give me only negative coverage. I think maybe their licenses should be taken away.”
But the president’s assertion that American television networks require government licenses is inaccurate. While local TV stations must hold a license from the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC clearly states on its website that it “does not license television or radio networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, or Fox.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 1.77 million viewers in the second quarter of 2025, outperforming Stephen Colbert (2.42 million viewers) in the 18–49 demographic.
Trump’s remarks came just a day after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a decision he welcomed. He claimed Kimmel was fired because “he had bad ratings” and because he said “something terrible” about Charlie Kirk, who was murdered.
The indefinite suspension of Kimmel’s show has sparked calls for boycotts against Disney, ABC’s parent company, and other major media groups that refused to air his program. Around 200 protesters gathered outside Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles, accusing the company of political censorship and bowing to pressure from the White House.
