GoKawiilConservatives and liberals lined up in opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to punish ABC for speech that President Trump dislikes.
Liberal advocacy groups urged FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to end his attacks on ABC, and conservative groups warned Carr not to set a precedent that would harm conservatives in future administrations. Former FCC chairs and commissioners from prior Republican and Democratic administrations also joined in opposition to what they call Carr’s “campaign to censor disfavored speech and advance the president’s personal interest.”
The FCC recently ordered ABC to file early license-renewal applications for the eight TV stations it owns and operates. A petition to deny ABC’s license renewals was then submitted by the Center for American Rights, a conservative group whose previous petitions factored heavily into Carr’s “news distortion” investigations into broadcasters accused of bias against Republicans and Trump. Another petition to deny was filed by the conservative Media Research Center.
There was a July 29 deadline for people to submit oppositions to the petitions to deny ABC’s license renewals, and there is an August 5 deadline for replies to the opposition filings.
“Through this proceeding, the FCC seeks to censor Disney’s and ABC’s speech and send a chilling message to all broadcasters: carry speech we don’t like at your peril,” said a filing submitted by former Republican and Democratic FCC chairs and commissioners from the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Obama eras.
Although the Trump FCC says the proceeding is over ABC’s potential violation of anti-discrimination rules with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices, it was statements by Jimmy Kimmel that seemed to spur Carr into action on Trump’s behalf. In September 2025, Carr threatened to revoke ABC station licenses for “news distortion” if they continued airing Kimmel’s show. In April of this year, Carr ordered the highly unusual ABC license review one day after Trump and the first lady called for Kimmel to be fired over a joke in which he said Melania Trump looked like an “expectant widow.”