The lone Democrat serving on the Federal Communications Commission is speaking out against President Donald Trump’s demand that two major broadcast networks lose their licenses after they declined to air his speech.
On Thursday evening, Trump delivered a nearly 30-minute prime-time address in which he once again raised his familiar claims that American elections cannot be trusted. During those remarks, he called for the licenses of Disney-owned ABC and Comcast-owned NBC to be taken away, saying their decision not to carry his speech amounted to fraud.
“In a rare move NBC and ABC fake news have both said they would not cover this speech,” Trump said Thursday. “Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses.”
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, who sits alongside two Republican commissioners, fired back on Friday, calling Trump’s demand “ridiculous.” She argued the networks were simply making “the same editorial decisions they’ve made under presidents of both parties.”
“Those editorial decisions are protected by the First Amendment, and the FCC has no authority to punish a station for refusing to air a blatantly political speech,” Gomez said in a statement. “This is a naked attempt to bully broadcasters, and the FCC should have no part in it.”
Legal experts note that broadcast networks hold broad First Amendment protections when it comes to deciding what content they air. Historically, however, networks have typically carried presidential speeches, viewing them as matters of public interest. Officials also pointed out that broadcast networks have previously declined to air speeches from Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Stripping a broadcaster of its license is not a simple process — it requires multiple steps, a ruling from an administrative law judge, and could ultimately be appealed to the full FCC and through the court system.
This is not the first time Trump has pushed for action against the two networks. He has made repeated calls for the FCC to revoke the licenses of both NBC and ABC.
