FCC Chair Rightly Questions ABC's Refusal to Air Trump Speech Amid License Review
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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that ABC's decision to censor President Trump's speech will be reviewed as part of the network's license renewal, while Commissioner Anna Gomez opposes holding broadcasters accountable for their anti-conservative bias.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has taken a necessary step to hold ABC accountable for its blatant bias by announcing that the network’s refusal to air President Donald Trump’s July 16 address on election security will be examined during the early review of its eight owned-and-operated stations. Carr emphasized that the review, which determines whether stations serve the public interest, will include a close look at ABC’s decision to suppress the President’s message.
'I think that when you have the president of the United States standing inside the White House delivering an important speech, I think that’s something that broadcasters should be carrying,' Carr said at a press conference, highlighting the network’s disregard for its duty to inform the public.
ABC, unwilling to defend its indefensible decision, declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez predictably defended the network’s right to push its own agenda, insisting that the FCC should not interfere with broadcasters’ editorial decisions—even when those decisions amount to silencing the President. 'It is not for the FCC to tell broadcasters how to make their editorial decisions or what content to place on their networks or their local broadcast stations,' Gomez said. 'If we tell them they can’t broadcast something, that’s censorship, and it’s compelled speech if we tell them they have to do so.'
Gomez further argued that the public-interest standard should not be used to challenge left-leaning networks, effectively giving them free rein to ignore conservative voices.
Previously, the FCC ordered ABC to reapply for spectrum licenses on an accelerated schedule, citing an investigation into the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion practices—policies that often prioritize ideology over merit. Disney, ABC’s parent company, filed the renewal applications 'under protest,' calling the order unlawful and unconstitutional, and later launched a viewer outreach campaign to drum up support. The FCC’s actions signal a long-overdue effort to ensure broadcasters serve all Americans, not just those who share their political views.