Trump's TV Tantrum: The Don Threatens to Terminate Networks That Don't Praise Him — After Offering to Leave the Presidency to Be a Full-time Host
Donald Trump made a wild threat about broadcast network licenses via Truth Social.
Dec. 24 2025, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
Donald Trump went on an unhinged rant where he seemingly threatened the broadcast licenses of TV networks for their overwhelmingly critical coverage of him, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The president pointed out how late-night network talk shows have become left-wing echo chambers railing against him, before making a provocative remark about CBS, ABC, and NBC's "very valuable" FCC licenses.
Broadcast License Termination Threat
Trump threatened the big three broadcast networks with losing their licenses due to overwhelmingly negative news coverage.
Trump shared a post on Truth Social late on Tuesday, December 23, asking, "Who has the worst Late Night host, CBS, ABC, or NBC??? They all have three things in common: High Salaries, No Talent, REALLY LOW RATINGS!"
He followed it up, stating, "If Network NEWSCASTS, and their Late Night Shows, are almost 100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn’t their very valuable Broadcast Licenses be terminated? I say, YES!"
Getting back into the spirit of the season, the president shared one more post before going to bed, wishing followers a "Merry Christmas."
Network Payouts to Donald Trump Over Lawsuits
Both CBS and ABC have paid out millions to Trump to settle civil lawsuits.
Trump isn't entirely off the mark in accusing U.S. broadcast networks of having a strong bias against him.
ABC paid Trump $16million to settle a defamation case where anchor George Stephanopoulos sensationally claimed the president had been found "liable for rape" in the E. Jean Carroll civil case, an incorrect accusation he repeated no less than 10 times.
In July, Paramount Global also paid $16million in another civil lawsuit after Trump sued CBS for deceptive practices, alleging that 60 Minutes selectively edited an interview with his then-2024 presidential race opponent, Kamala Harris, to make her answers seem more coherent just weeks before the election.
FCC Threats Against Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel was suspended for six days after Disney caved to threats about controversial comments he made regarding Charlie Kirk's killer.
Trump's FCC hinted it would flex its muscle when it came to bias claims against Republicans following Turning Point USA founder and MAGA firebrand Charlie Kirk's assassination in September.
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel claimed in a monologue that Kirk was killed by a right-wing Trump supporter, even though days earlier, authorities revealed the free speech activist's alleged murderer, Tyler Robinson, had been indoctrinated by far-left ideology.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened "immediate action" against Kimmel, ABC, and Disney for "deliberately misleading the public" for the host's untrue claim that "the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."
Kimmel was pulled off the air 'indefinitely" by Disney later that day after Carr's comment on a right-wing podcast, although he only ended up being away for a total of six days.
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Host With the Most
Trump made the unprecedented move of hosting the annual Kennedy Center Honors telecast in 2025.
Trump's provocative comment about network broadcast licenses came shortly after he seemingly joked about stepping down from office after showing off his hosting skills at the Trump Kennedy Center Honors telecast on CBS.
"At the request of the Board, and just about everybody else in America, I am hosting the event," he boasted on Truth Social
He added, "Tell me what you think of my 'Master of Ceremony' abilities. If really good, would you like me to leave the Presidency in order to make 'hosting' a full-time job?"
