ABC, which has been in conflict with the Donald Trump administration, strongly protested the federal government's investigation into its program "The View," invoking the Constitution.
Bloomberg and Reuters reported on the 7th that ABC, in a filing sent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), criticized the agency, stating, "The First Amendment does not permit the government to sit in the editor's chair. Yet that is the seat the FCC now claims to take." The reports added that ABC argued, "Deciding which broadcasts qualify as news programs and forcing programs to devote airtime to guests they never chose — that is the seat the FCC seeks to occupy."
The dispute stems from the equal-time rule applied to U.S. terrestrial broadcasters. Under this rule, entertainment programs on terrestrial television must give equal time to all candidates when inviting political candidates.
However, news programs have been excluded from this regulation, and the exemption has been extended to various talk shows. "The View," ABC's long-running morning talk show, received an exemption from the FCC in 2002, and many political candidates have appeared on the program since.
But in February, shortly after Democratic Rep. James Talarico, a leading Senate candidate in Texas, appeared on the show, the FCC ordered the network to apply for an official ruling on whether "The View" qualifies as a news program.
ABC viewed the Trump administration as putting the brakes only on programs unfriendly to it. The network pointed out, "The FCC is focusing its attention only on daytime and late-night TV programs it views as unfriendly to the current administration," adding, "It has not touched the talk radio space, where political candidates routinely appear without their opponents. The FCC's actions are chilling expression ahead of the fast-approaching 2026 midterm elections."
ABC and the Trump administration have long had an uneasy relationship. Over "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," the network's flagship late-night show that has satirized President Trump, the president and the first lady personally demanded the host's dismissal, and the show was suspended under pressure last year before resuming.
The FCC has begun early license reviews of eight local stations owned by ABC even though their license terms have not expired, and is also conducting an investigation into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.
