Trump Administration's Review of ABC's Broadcast Licenses Looks Like 'Illegal Jawboning' |
Free Speech
Trump Administration's Review of ABC's Broadcast Licenses Looks Like 'Illegal Jawboning'
When he returned to the White House, Trump vowed to protect free speech from the government. The FCC's latest move against ABC and Disney looks like the opposite.
Eric Boehm | 4.28.2026 5:00 PM
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(Jimmy Kimmel Live/Youtube)
When he returned to the White House in January 2025, one of the first things President Donald Trump did was sign an executive order aimed at "restoring freedom of speech."
Among other things, that order prohibited any federal "officer, employee, or agent" from engaging in "any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen."
Like Trump's approval rating, that commitment to the First Amendment seems to have significantly eroded during the past 15 months. On Tuesday, the Trump administration escalated its war with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and his employer, Disney, over a joke that Kimmel told last week, when he called First Lady Melania Trump an "expectant widow."
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is reportedly reviewing broadcast licenses held by ABC, which is owned by Disney. The FCC is calling those licenses in........