FCC chair slams Trump's demand for CBS to 'lose its license' for interviewing Harris

The chair of the Federal Communications Commission hit back against former President Donald Trump's demand that CBS News be stripped of its broadcasting license for giving Vice President Kamala Harris the traditional presidential candidate interview this month, according to CNN.

Jessica Rosenworcel, who has served in some capacity on the FCC board for over a decade and is a strong advocate for net neutrality rules, stated that the FCC “does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage."

She added: “While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former President may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored. As I’ve said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy.”

Trump's particular gripe with CBS stems from how they presented the interview. He alleged, without evidence, that they "sliced and diced" the interview to make Harris look better, effectively giving her an in-kind campaign contribution, violating campaign finance laws.

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“60 Minutes is a major part of the News Organization of CBS, which has just created the Greatest Fraud in Broadcast History,” Trump posted to his Truth Social platform. “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!”

This comes shortly after Rosenworcel also condemned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for trying to intimidate local broadcast stations out of airing ads in favor of a pro-choice constitutional ballot amendment, by threatening to criminally prosecute and jail station employees under an obscure "sanitary nuisance" law that was meant to apply to chemical pollution, rather than political speech.

“The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment,” said Rosenworcel in a statement released Tuesday. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”