Trump Calls for Revoking ABC and NBC Licenses After Networks Decline to Air His Election-Fraud Address Live

President Trump delivered a 25-minute prime-time address on election fraud from the East Room of the White House on July 16. He stated that ABC and NBC should lose their broadcast licenses because the networks did not carry the remarks live on television. Trump said the networks knew the topic in advance and chose not to air it.

“They knew what it was about because of the fact that they don’t like the topic because they know how corrupt our system is, and they don’t want to reveal it,” he said. He also claimed that China worked with some American journalists to discredit him. ABC and NBC carried the address on their streaming platforms but not on their broadcast television networks.

ABC aired a network special after the speech ended. CBS News joined the address after it had started and ended coverage about five minutes before it concluded. Fox News carried the address live. CNN did not carry it live.

MS Now aired parts of the remarks. CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil said before the address that much of what Trump has said on the security of American elections has been false. He noted an argument that airing the speech would be irresponsible but concluded it was the network’s job to cover the news.

After cutting away, Dokoupil began fact-checking Trump’s claims about Chinese interference in the 2020 election. All major broadcast networks had carried Trump’s April 2026 prime-time address on the war with Iran. Cable networks do not hold broadcast licenses from the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC has authority to revoke or deny renewal of a broadcast license, though any such action would likely face legal challenge. White House communications director Steven Cheung posted on X that NBC and ABC were “cowards” who did not want viewers to hear the truth.