Trump’s Unhinged Truth Social Posts Are at the Heart of ABC’s Lawsuit Against the FCC

ABC filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, alleging that the White House has been using the regulatory agency to prosecute President Donald Trump’s “campaign against free speech on network television.” The legal filing includes several Truth Social posts from Trump where he complained about ABC’s news coverage of him and called for the network’s licenses to be terminated.

“Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” reads the lawsuit, which was filed in a district court in Washington, D.C.

The suit explains that ABC has been targeted again and again by the FCC, including when the agency issued an order that ABC stations file early applications to renew their licenses, years before they were actually due. The suit names FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Trump’s lead henchman for stifling free speech , along with the other FCC commissioners.

President Trump’s tweets are central to ABC’s case, documenting his personal vendetta against the network. The president has repeatedly complained that coverage of him is too critical, though he says that of all the major networks. But he has targeted each network individually, in a clear attempt to get journalists, anchors, and comedians whom he dislikes fired. Trump has taken credit for CBS refusing to renew Stephen Colbert’s contract and nearly succeeded at getting Jimmy Kimmel booted from ABC after some benign comments about the death of Charlie Kirk.

The lawsuit includes several other posts from the president, including one where he wrote about Kimmel being taken off the air in September 2025: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.” Kimmel’s show was later restored.

The suit also includes posts sent before Trump was elected for a second time in November 2024. In one tweet from October of that year, Trump wrote: “60 Minutes is a major part of the News Organization of CBS, which has just created the Greatest Fraud in Broadcast History. CBS should lose its license, and it should be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as should all other Broadcast Licenses, because they are just as corrupt as CBS — and maybe even WORSE!”

CBS later became part of new media giant Paramount Skydance as part of a merger approved by Trump’s administration. The network has seen a mass exodus of respected journalists and producers, especially at its flagship news magazine 60 Minutes, since CEO David Ellison has rebuilt CBS to be more friendly to Trump.

Trump has frequently tried to dictate how the world works through his Truth Social posts. On Tuesday, he posted a map of the Strait of Hormuz, declaring it to be a new U.S. territory.