According to a report by Reuters on July 18th, U.S. President Donald Trump has once again requested the revocation of the broadcasting licenses of ABC and NBC due to their broadcasts. In response, Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), publicly criticized this move as 'absurd' and said it violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Trump delivered a speech that lasted about 30 minutes on the prime time slot on the evening of the 16th local time. He once again claimed that American elections were “ unreliable”. Since ABC and NBC did not broadcast his speech, Trump said that these television stations were “faking” and refused to broadcast the president’s speech. This behavior should lead to the revocation of their broadcasting licenses.
Gomes issued a statement on the 18th, stating that the two television stations had only made 'the same editing decisions that have been made during the tenure of previous presidents from both parties'. This right to edit is protected by the first amendment of the United States Constitution. 'The FCC has no authority to penalize the television stations for refusing to broadcast a speech that clearly has political overtones.'
She still criticized that Trump's action was "nakedly attempting to threaten radio institutions" and that the FCC "should not be involved in this".
According to American law, revoking a broadcasting license requires a complex process, including an administrative judge's ruling, and can be appealed to the entire FCC committee and the court. It is not something that the president can decide directly.
Reports say that American broadcast stations usually broadcast presidential speeches live due to their public significance, but there is no mandatory obligation to do so. In the past, both Democratic presidents, Obama and Biden, have faced situations where television stations refused to broadcast their speeches.
This is not the first time Trump has asked the FCC to revoke the broadcasting licenses of ABC and NBC. He has already pressed the FCC several times, demanding action against these two media companies.
