Disney-owned ABC and President Donald Trump are at odds again as the network launches an on-air campaign urging viewers to support local stations amid mounting pressure from the White House, a move praised by press freedom advocates.
As part of the campaign, local stations, including New York’s WABC, the network’s largest owned and operated station, are encouraging viewers to voice their concerns during a public comment period that ends July 29. Other stations, including KTRK in Houston, have posted similar calls to action on their websites.
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This follows an action in April in which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered ABC to quickly apply for license renewals for eight of its local television stations. In addition to Houston and New York, the affected stations serve markets such as San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
The FCC uses license renewals to determine whether a station is serving the public interest. Free speech advocates say the agency’s move is aimed at placating President Trump by targeting perceived political opponents.
“(FCC Chairman Brenden) Carr’s public support for President Trump’s efforts to reorganize and silence ABC taints the FCC’s claims that it is calling for balls and strikes when investigating ABC and its programming,” Seth Stern, advocacy director at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Al Jazeera in a written statement.
“No matter what pretexts the FCC uses, anyone with any common sense knows exactly what’s going on. Led by someone who has publicly denied independence from Trump, the FCC is using its power to flimsy and selectively do Trump’s bidding.”
In May, dissenting FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez sent a letter to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro warning of what she described as “the weaponization of the FCC’s power as a federal regulator.”
“Using individual local stations’ licenses as leverage against their parent companies is an unusual and dangerous abuse of this department’s power,” Gomez wrote.
Gomez did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
As Gomez pointed out in his letter, many of the stations in question are not scheduled for review for the next five years. ABC argued last month that the administration’s actions violate the agency’s First Amendment rights.
“It’s great to see ABC fighting back against these abuses of power. It’s clearer than ever that capitulating to Trump will only invite further attacks,” Stern said.
The campaign comes amid increasing pressure from President Trump, who recently used his social media platform Truth Social to criticize ABC News over its coverage of renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall and allegations of vandalism.
On June 18, ABC News’ chief political correspondent Jonathan Karl highlighted during a report that blue paint was peeling from the bottom of the reflecting pool. The ABC report noted that the president has not provided evidence to support his claims of vandalism.
“In describing the vandalism that occurred at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., ABC Fake News, one of the worst in the industry, having paid me $16 million for past bad and inaccurate reporting, failed to report that their close ‘friends’, Democrats Obama and Biden, spent over $100 million on the Reflecting Pool and it had no effect at all,” President Trump wrote, citing the ABC report. Settlement of defamation lawsuit by anchor George Stephanopoulos over comments he made about E-Jean Carroll.
Trump also doubled down on his criticism of the network, hinting that he was preparing a new lawsuit over its coverage, writing, “I like their money.”
mounting pressure
The administration has been keeping tabs on ABC for a long time. The network temporarily bowed to pressure from the administration and removed late-night host Jimmy Kimmel following his comments following the death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. ABC later reinstated him.
In February, the FCC launched an investigation into ABC’s daytime talk show “The View,” alleging that it may have violated federal equal time requirements that require broadcasters to provide equal opportunity to political candidates.
In his letter, Gomez argued that the FCC is selectively enforcing these rules.
“This FCC has trained its enforcement agencies on ABC, but it has remained conspicuously silent about other stations that operate in the same markets and under exactly the same rules, air interviews with political candidates without filing, and receive no investigations, no letters, no investigations,” Gomez said.
Kerr also launched an investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in March 2025, warning that the FCC could revoke its broadcast license.
President Trump has repeatedly asked broadcasters to cancel programs he dislikes or comedy and news shows that criticize him, while also pressuring regulators to revoke the licenses of stations he believes are unfair.
Carr referenced the Disney investigation in a post on social media platform
Kerr’s remarks came as the FCC approved the merger of major local television station operators TEGNA and Nexstar. Critics have accused Nexstar’s programming, especially the cable network NewsNation, of moving to the right to appease the president. As first reported by industry newsletter The Desk, Nexstar’s CEO said the company continues to uphold its DEI philosophy.
ABC did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
