Donald Trump suggested on Thursday the TV networks that cover him “negatively” could lose their licenses after he celebrated ABC suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
The president said major US networks were “97% against me”, though he did not offer evidence to support this figure. “They give me only bad press. I mean they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their licenses should be taken away.”
The president’s claim that US TV networks need to be licensed by the government to operate is incorrect. While local TV stations do require a license from the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC says clearly on its website that it does “not license TV or radio networks (such as CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox)”.
The move has prompted numerous calls for a boycott against Disney, ABC’s parent company, and other major media conglomerates that have refused to air Kimmel’s show.
Obama decries Trump’s ‘dangerous’ attack on free speech
Barack Obama condemned what he called a “dangerous” escalation by the Trump administration over the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show. “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like,” Obama wrote on X.
FCC commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat on the commission, also accused ABC of “shameful” corporate capitulation that “has put the foundation of the first amendment in danger”
Calls grow to boycott Disney over Jimmy Kimmel suspension
The indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show has prompted impassioned calls for a boycott against Disney, ABC’s parent company, and other major media conglomerates that have refused to air Kimmel’s show.
Harris dismayed with Walz and wanted Buttigieg as her VP
Kamala Harris watched mortified as her running mate, Tim Walz, fell into JD Vance’s trap in last year’s vice-presidential debate and “fumbled” a crucial answer, she writes in a campaign memoir.
The former Democratic presidential nominee also admits that Walz had not been her first choice for vice-president in her book 107 Days, obtained by the Guardian ahead of its publication next week. Harris writes that her “first choice” would have been the then transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, a close friend of hers who is gay.
Trump asks supreme court to allow firing of Fed’s Lisa Cook
The Trump administration asked the US supreme court to allow it to fire the Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as it continues its extraordinary attack on the central bank’s independence.
Trump turns fire on Putin during UK visit
Donald Trump accused Vladimir Putin of letting him down in a joint press conference with Keir Starmer during which the US president piled criticism on his Russian counterpart. Trump said he had hoped to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine soon after entering office, but that Putin’s actions had prevented him from doing so.
His comments came during an hour-long press conference alongside Starmer which marked the culmination of a two-day state visit during which the president has largely steered clear of several points of tension between the two leaders.
Erika Kirk named new CEO of Turning Point USA
Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, has been appointed as the new CEO and chair of the board for Turning Point USA. The organization announced on Thursday that the late CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot and killed at an event last week, had previously expressed that he would want his wife to lead in the event of his death.
What else happened today:
Trump told Britain it should “call out the military” to control its borders during a tightly controlled summit in which Keir Starmer ducked major flashpoints with the US president.
A Los Angeles protester charged with assaulting a border patrol agent in June was acquitted after US immigration officials were accused in court of lying about the incident.
The US supreme court will hear oral arguments on the legality of Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on 5 November.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 17 September 2025.
