Trump: 'Take away' ABC broadcast license for 'unfair debate' treatment

Former President Donald Trump has called ABC "dishonest" for how its moderators handed Tuesday night's presidential debate and said ABC ought to be punished.

During an appearance Wednesday morning on "Fox & Friends," Trump said the "unfair debate" was "a rigged deal" and suggested ABC moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir fact-checked only him, essentially taking the side of Vice President Kamala Harris.

"It was a three on one," he said.

After the debate, Trump had already posted on his social media site, Truth Social, the complaint that the moderators had been biased against him, making the contest a "three on one."

Most polls had Harris outperforming Trump, but the former president said his campaign had polling that showed him winning "80 to 20." Still, Trump on Thursday said he wouldn't debate Harris again.

As for ABC, on "Fox and Friends" Trump went on to say, "To be honest they are a news organization, they have to be licensed. They ought to take away their license for the way they did that."

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It's not the first time Trump has threatened TV networks, although ABC has been a frequent target for his attacks, noted media reporter Dominick Mastrangelo of The Hill news site.

Earlier this year, Trump said about CNN and NBC, “frankly, they should have their licenses or whatever they have taken away," when the networks opted not to broadcast his live remarks after winning the Iowa caucuses, wrote Steve Benen, editor of MaddowBlog on MSNBC.com.

Benen also noted that as president, Trump wrote on social media in 2017: “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” Those comments came after NBC reported that Trump wanted to increase the U.S. nuclear arsenal

Last year, Trump posted on Truth Social that Comcast, parent company of NBC and MSNBC, should be investigated because the networks' "endless coverage of the now fully debunked SCAM known as Russia, Russia, Russia, and much else, is one big Campaign Contribution to the Radical Left Democrat Party."

CBS was also Trump's target on Truth Social for a "60 Minutes" interview with President Biden in October 2023. "Why should CBS get free public airwaves for this highly partisan 'show'," he posted.

Trump's attacks should be alarming because cracking down on the free press is a "key and radical part" of his "authoritarian-style vision and agenda," Benen wrote.

FCC chair: Agency doesn't revoke licenses when candidate 'dislikes content'

The Federal Communications Commission does not license major broadcast networks such as ABC, but does license some local stations, Mastrangelo said. Broadcasters were originally given channels but over the decades they have been sold and traded for digital channels.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told The Washington Post in a statement the agency "does not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage."

Still, political observers have warned that Trump’s attacks on media outlets could lead to violence against journalists, Mastrangelo said.

"The entire media – and anyone who cares about free speech – should consider this a warning of what could happen in a second Trump term," said The New Republic.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump calls ABC 'dishonest' and 'unfair' in debate for fact-checking