Posted in: ABC, streaming, TV, YouTube | Tagged: ABC, disney, fcc, opinion

Disney/ABC Skipping Trump Speech Will Impact FCC License Review: Carr

Trump's FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, expects ABC's passing on Trump's election conspiracies to be brought up during the license renewal.

Published Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:37:10 -0500

by Ray Flook

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Article Summary

FCC Chair Brendan Carr says ABC’s decision to skip Trump’s speech could weigh on Disney’s upcoming license review.
Disney’s eight ABC stations were ordered to file early renewals, a move Carr ties to DEI scrutiny and critics call retaliation.
Carr also targets ABC’s The View, raising Equal Time questions as Trump allies push claims about broadcaster obligations.
ABC and other networks have skipped presidential speeches before, fueling debate over news judgment, politics, and public interest.

Trump's FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, has been targeting Disney and ABC for several months now, escalating their effort to squash free speech in two very big ways. First, Carr ordered Disney to "file license renewals for all of their licensed TV stations within 30 days." What that meant was that instead of going through the renewal process in 2028 and 2031, Disney's 8 ABC stations (Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno) were required to have their paperwork in by May 28th, 2026. Though Carr claimed the move was part of the FCC's investigation into the company's DEI practices, Disney sees it as retaliation for past issues the Trump Administration has had with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and ABC News. In addition, the FCC has also targeted the popular daytime talk show The View, calling into question whether the talker should be classified as a legitimate news program and subject to the "Equal Time" rule – a move many say is a response to the show's constant criticism of Trump.

So, when Trump went on a rant after ABC and NBC made the decision not to air his steaming pile of election conspiracy nonsense earlier this month, we knew what was coming. Trump was going to signal Carr that the FCC should consider stripping Disney/ABC of its station licenses… and Carr was going to lap up his demand like an eager little puppy. "I think 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. And so, obviously, this is an issue," Carr shared earlier today. "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 continued, "I'm sure that there are going to be points raised in that proceeding that relate to Disney's decision. Again, we're going to hold all broadcasters to the public interest obligations, and we're always looking to make sure they do exactly that."

To be clear, this was far from the first time that the networks passed on a POTUS speech when they felt it was more political than in the public's best interest. In September 2022, ABC ran a game show, and CBS aired a repeat of Young Sheldon instead of President Joseph Biden's speech on threats to our democracy. And then there was 2014, when the networks stuck to their regularly scheduled programming rather than airing President Barack Obama's immigration speech. Considering what Trump previewed ahead of his speech, it was no surprise to many that some news networks and divisions would pass. Don't forget what happened to FOX "News" when they made the decision to air unsubstantiated claims about election fraud. In addition, Sinclair and Nexstar's ABC stations did interrupt their programming to give Trump some screen time:

Trump calls to shut down and remove ABC and NBC from the air because they aren't broadcasting his lie-filled speech pic.twitter.com/nmPOUzO3xA

— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) July 17, 2026