Trump Says ABC, NBC Should Lose Licenses Over Refusal To Carry Speech

Donald Trump lashed out at ABC and NBC, the two networks that chose not to carry his speech live on their broadcast platforms, as he delivered a 25-minute long speech full of claims that included China obtaining voter registration data and the “deep state” withholding that intelligence from him.

Without evidence, Trump claimed that ABC and NBC and others in the media “want to continue this fraud for whatever reason. They want to keep it going. They want to protect the radical left. They can’t have a great country, and that’s true. You can’t have a great country without free and fair elections. Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses. They use our public multi-billion dollar in value airwaves for absolutely no money. They pay nothing. All we want is honesty in our elections and honesty in reporting.”

The networks had announced earlier in the day that they would not carry the speech, but would feature it live on their streaming channels.

CBS News did air the speech — albeit not in its entirety. But anchor Tony Dokoupil preceded the address by telling viewers, “Honestly, much of what the president has said on this topic is false.” He then explained why they were doing a special report, noting, “This speech will be made. It will be news. And it is our job to cover the news.”

Then he went to Major Garrett, who offered some context on what viewers could expect to hear. Afterward, the most newsworthy claim — that China acquired 220 million voter records — was addressed by David Becker, of the Center for Election Innovation & Research. “It sounds bad when you hear about it, right? But the reality is, voter files in the United States are public.”

Trump’s threat of NBC and ABC is nothing new. he’s done that before. But ABC already has been ordered to put the licenses of its eight owned and operated stations up for an early renewal by the FCC and its chairman, Brendan Carr.

More to come.