Trump Tweet Asking About Challenging NBC License Draws Criticism From Inside, Outside FCC
President Donald Trump asking his 40 million-plus Twitter followers about challenging NBC's "license" drew quick criticism Wednesday morning from Democrats at the FCC and on Capitol Hill. The company owns several FCC-licensed TV stations.
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"Not how it works," tweeted Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai "to urge you to maintain" the agency's "charter as an independent agency and withstand any urges from President Trump to harm the news media and infringe upon the First Amendment." NAB CEO Gordon Smith responded that the "founders of our nation set as a cornerstone of our democracy the First Amendment, forever enshrining and protecting freedom of the press. It is contrary to this fundamental right for any government official to threaten the revocation of an FCC license simply because of a disagreement with the reporting of a journalist.”
Following an NBC News report that Trump wants to greatly boost the number of U.S. nuclear weapons (see here), Trump tweeted that "with all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!" He also tweeted that the report was "pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!" Trump on the campaign trail had slammed CNN and said he wanted to block AT&T from buying its parent Time Warner, but experts have predicted the deal will get DOJ OK (see here).
The FCC, White House, commission members and NBC didn't comment right away. Comcast owns NBC.