President Donald Trump spent his Sunday night ranting at “FAKE NEWS” ABC and NBC, calling the networks “crooked” and an “actual threat” to democracy—then threatening to pull their FCC licenses.
A triggered Trump unleashed a string of furious Truth Social posts, which insulted ABC host Jonathan Karl’s hair while talking up his own popularity.
“Why is it that ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the absolute worst and most biased networks anywhere in the World, aren’t paying Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES,” Trump ranted.
“They should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives,” Trump continued, “but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!! Crooked ‘journalism’ should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!”
The outburst followed Trump talking himself up, stating, “Despite a very high popularity and, according to many, among the greatest 8 months in Presidential History, ABC & NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the worst and most biased networks in history, give me 97% BAD STORIES.”
The president continued, “IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC. I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!! MAGA.”
Trump has seemed emboldened to take on the TV networks he has a personal problem with this year, after defunding PBS and NPR, calling them biased and “corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.”
The president also received a $16 million settlement from CBS’s owner, Paramount, over charges that the network edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris just ahead of the 2024 election.
During one of his Sunday posts, Trump referenced a separate $16 million TV legal win. Last December, ABC News and George Stephanopoulos settled with the president after the anchor falsely said Trump had been found “liable for rape.”
In one post, the president said Karl’s hair “looks absolutely terrible” and noted, “It’s amazing what bad ratings, on a failed television show that was forced to pay me $16,000,000, can do to one’s appearance!”
The Daily Beast has contacted both NBC and ABC for comment.
Trump’s TV network meltdown can possibly be traced to a Sunday interview with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on ABC’s This Week. He was discussing the FBI’s Friday raid on the home of John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser-turned-enemy.
The president said of Bolton on Friday, “He’s a real low-life, not a smart guy, he could be a very unpatriotic guy.” He also removed Bolton’s security protection.
FBI director Kash Patel even posted on X during the raid, “No one is above the law, FBI agents on mission.”
“I think it’s kind of funny to hear the president talk the way he does about Bolton and classified information, yet, when he had classified information, the same rules didn’t apply,” Christie, a one-time Trump ally, told Karl.
Christie also claimed Trump was giving himself unprecedented powers, which included getting retribution on his enemies that could possibly end in them serving jail time.
“Donald Trump sees himself as the person who gets to decide everything. And he doesn’t care about any separation,” Christie said.
“In fact, he absolutely rejects the idea that there should be separation between criminal investigations and the politically elected leader of the United States,” he stated. “This is much different than it’s ever been run before.”
Christie also pointed out that this should come as no surprise.
“Let me say candidly to the American people who are watching: You were told this,” said Christie. “You were told that this was what he was going to do, and not by me, by Donald Trump, during the 2024 campaign. He told you he was going to do this, that he was going to have a Justice Department that acted as his personal legal representation. And that is what they’re doing.”
Trump did not take Christie’s comments lying down, calling him “Sloppy” and the program itself “ratings-challenged”. He also threatened to investigate Christie over the 2013 “Bridgegate” scandal.
In that “scandal,” toll lanes for the George Washington Bridge closed during the morning rush hour, leading to massive traffic jams. The closure was suspected to be an act of political revenge over the New Jersey mayor not endorsing Christie’s re-election bid. Christie himself was not implicated in the incident, but two of his allies were convicted and jailed for their part in punishing the Democratic mayor.
On Sunday, Trump wrote, “Can anyone believe anything that Sloppy Chris says? Do you remember the way he lied about the dangerous and deadly closure of the George Washington Bridge in order to stay out of prison, at the same time sacrificing people who worked for him, including a young mother, who spent years trying to fight off the vicious charges against her.”
The president continued, “Chris refused to take responsibility for these criminal acts. For the sake of JUSTICE, perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again? NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.”
The Daily Beast has contacted both Chris Christie’s office and the White House for comment.
