Carr says ABC decision to not broadcast Trump speech will factor in review
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr indicated that ABC’s decision not to broadcast President Donald Trump’s recent speech live would influence the FCC’s review of the network’s broadcast license. During the speech, Trump claimed that China illegally accessed U.S. voter data to influence elections. Major networks like CNN, ABC, and NBC declined live coverage, tho ABC streamed the speech online. Carr emphasized that presidential speeches in the White House should be broadcast by broadcasters and criticized the licensing process, which ABC and Disney are complying with following an FCC directive linked to an investigation into Disney’s policies. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez responded by stating the FCC lacks authority to penalize broadcasters for editorial choices, asserting such moves threaten free speech and are contrary to the law and Constitution. The controversy occurs amid broader scrutiny of ABC, including an FCC investigation into whether the network violated equal time rules due to a campaign supporting “The View,” and ongoing debates over how broadcasters handle presidential addresses, especially when containing political messaging or contentious claims.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said ABC’s decision not to air President Donald Trump’s address live last week would factor into the agency’s review of the network’s broadcast license.
CNN, ABC, and NBC declined to carry the speech live. However, ABC did stream the address on its digital platforms. During the address, Trump alleged that China illegally accessed millions of U.S. voter files in an effort to influence the 2018 and 2020 elections.
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“When you have the president of the United States standing inside the White House delivering an important speech, I think that’s something broadcasters should be carrying. And so, obviously, this is an issue,” Carr told reporters Wednesday. “There have been lots of concerns raised, including by members of Congress, about whether broadcasters and their decisions there comply with the public interest.”
Carr’s comments came as ABC and parent company Disney filed early license renewal applications Thursday for the network’s eight owned-and-operated television stations, complying with an FCC directive issued in April. The unusual order required the company to begin the renewal process ahead of schedule as the agency investigates Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. ABC has criticized the FCC’s order, calling it “unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional.”
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the agency’s lone Democrat, criticized Carr’s Wednesday remarks, arguing the FCC has no authority to penalize broadcasters for editorial decisions.
“The FCC has no authority to punish broadcasters for exercising their First Amendment right to choose what is newsworthy,” Gomez said. “They made these decisions under presidents of both parties without any complaints, and in this case, the remarks were freely available online to anyone who wanted to watch them.”
She added that the agency’s “vague public interest standard is being used just to punish speech this administration doesn’t like, and to reward speech that it does like. That’s inappropriate, and it is contrary to the law and the Constitution.”
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The major broadcast networks have also declined to air certain speeches by former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, even after the White House requested airtime. News executives have historically weighed whether presidential remarks warrant uninterrupted coverage, particularly when they are expected to include political messaging or disputed claims.
The dispute comes as ABC faces scrutiny from the FCC on multiple fronts. Earlier this week, the network launched an advertising campaign encouraging viewers of The View to voice their support for the program amid an FCC investigation into whether the talk show violated the federal equal time rule.
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