‘I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake,’ President Donald Trump told the reporter.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Nov. 19 that it would open a review into agreements between national networks and local broadcast stations after President Donald Trump made calls for the Disney-owned ABC News to lose its broadcast license.
Trump said on Nov. 18 that ABC News should have its broadcast licenses removed after its reporter asked about the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and the release of Epstein files.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the agency will review rules about when stations can opt out of airing a network or its programming on public interest grounds.
Trump was hosting Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Nov. 18 when ABC reporter Mary Bruce asked Trump during a press conference whether his family’s business dealings in Saudi Arabia would pose a conflict of interest. Bruce also asked the crown prince why Americans should trust him, citing the 2018 killing of Khashoggi.
“You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Trump told the reporter after addressing her question on his family’s business dealings in Saudi Arabia, saying the question was “insubordinate.”
Trump noted that “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” referring to Khashoggi, and said the crown prince “knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.”
In his response, bin Salman described Khashoggi’s death as a “painful” event and said that Saudi authorities have carried out all the necessary steps to investigate the murder.
The Saudi crown prince’s visit to Washington was his first trip since the 2018 killing of Saudi critic Khashoggi in Istanbul.
Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who had criticized bin Slaman’s policies, was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the crown prince in October 2018, according to a February 2021 declassified report.
The report, issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), said, “We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”
Riyadh denied any involvement by the crown prince, but the Saudi leader previously acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
Bruce later followed up with another question, asking why the White House was waiting for congressional action to release records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein instead of releasing them now.
Trump said: “You know, it’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.”
Addressing Bruce’s question, Trump said he had “nothing to do” with Epstein and had kicked him out of his club long ago. He went on to cite the names of prominent figures he claimed were connected to the deceased sex offender.
“All these guys were friends of his. You don’t even talk about those people. You just keep going on the Epstein files,” the president said.
“I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake. And it’s so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, a chairman who should look at that because I think when you come in and when you’re 97 percent negative to Trump, and then Trump wins the election in a landslide. That means, obviously, your news is not credible,“ he added.
The exchanges occurred the same day the Senate approved a bill requiring the Justice Department to release more files related to Epstein’s case. The bill now heads to Trump’s desk for approval.
Trump had previously called for the broadcast licenses of ABC and NBC to be revoked over what he described as “unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives.”