Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr suggested on July 23, 2026, that ABC’s recent decision to not air President Donald Trump's primetime speech addressing election security and vulnerabilities during the 2020 election could influence the network’s broadcast license renewal process. ABC, along with NBC, chose not to broadcast the speech on linear television, while CNN, a cable channel, also skipped it but is not regulated by the FCC in the same way.

Carr told Fox News Digital, "I was asked at the beginning of the week whether I thought broadcasters should air the president's remarks, and I said, of course they should. And they should do so because they have an obligation at the end of the day to operate in the public interest to serve the needs of their communities. And I think making sure that people have access to significant presidential addresses is part and parcel of what all broadcasters should want to do."

He further expressed concerns that refusing to air a major presidential address due to disagreement with its content raises serious questions about whether the network intended to keep Americans uninformed about potential foreign interference in elections. Carr referenced a letter from Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) urging the FCC to review broadcast networks’ decisions for compliance with their public interest obligations.

Additional comments from Carr indicated that the issue could be raised during ongoing investigations and proceedings concerning ABC.

On July 23, a coalition of 14 conservative organizations, led by the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF), expressed support for Carr's deregulatory efforts but urged the FCC to maintain the "well-established, routine, predictable, and presumptive nature of broadcast license renewals."

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