MW Trump's fight with Jimmy Kimmel escalates as the FCC puts ABC under review
By Lukas I. Alpert
The FCC says the review is looking at whether the network's diversity initiatives are discriminatory, but it comes just a day after Trump called for Kimmel to be fired
The FCC opened its probe as President Donald Trump has called for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel for the second time.
The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered a broadcast-license review of television stations owned by ABC, a network whose programming President Donald Trump has frequently targeted for complaint.
The Federal Communications Commission said the review of the network's licenses would focus on whether it had been discriminatory in its diversity and inclusion policies, but it came a day after the president had called for ABC's late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired.
In a statement, the Walt Disney Co. $(DIS)$, which owns ABC, said its stations "have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information and public-interest programming."
"We are confident that the record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels," the statement read.
The FCC action is the latest step by the Trump administration to target major media outlets for coverage that has angered the president, in addition to several lawsuits Trump previously filed against outlets including CBS, the New York Times( NYT) and the Wall Street Journal.
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Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, called the FCC's move "corrosive to democracy."
"The FCC has no authority to cancel broadcasters' licenses because of their perceived political views," he said. "But this isn't just about the rights of Disney and ABC. President Trump is trying to consolidate control over what Americans see and hear on the radio, television and social media. If he gets his way, we'll have only government-aligned media organizations that broadcast only government-approved news and commentary. It would be difficult to imagine an outcome more corrosive to democracy or more offensive to the First Amendment."
Trump called for Kimmel's ouster on Monday over remarks he made last week in which he joked that first lady Melania Trump looked like an "expectant widow." Two days later, the Trumps and several administration officials had to be rushed out of the White House Correspondent's Dinner after the Secret Service stopped a gunman from entering the banquet hall.
On Monday evening, Kimmel addressed Trump's demands on-air, saying it was "a joke about their age difference" and was not "by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination."
In his show's opening monologue last Thursday night, Kimmel pretended he was speaking to the crowd at the correspondents' dinner, saying: "Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
The blowup marked the second time Kimmel has become a target of Trump's ire. Late last year, Kimmel's show was pulled off ABC for a week following criticism from the White House over comments he made about the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In that fight, FCC Chair Brendan Carr demanded action from the owners of ABC's local television affiliates. Soon after, Nexstar Media Group $(NXST)$, ABC's largest affiliate owner, said it was pulling Kimmel's program off its station. Sinclair $(SBGI)$, another large station owner, followed suit, leading ABC to pull Kimmel's show entirely.
At the time, Nexstar was in the midst of a $6.2 billion acquisition of station owner Tegna, a deal that required FCC approval. Last month, Nexstar received FCC approval for the deal although it has since been stalled in court.
-Lukas I. Alpert
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2026 16:23 ET (20:23 GMT)
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