Disney, the parent company of ABC, sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday in retaliation for the Trump administration’s attacks on its First Amendment rights. The suit comes after months of complaints from President Donald Trump about programs on the network supposedly offering up a left-of-center point of view.
The FCC previously ordered eight television stations owned by ABC to file for federal renewals of their broadcast licenses ahead of the scheduled time. In its suit, ABC plainly states that the government action is an attempt to silence dissent.
“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,” the suit explains.
The filing cites Trump’s social media posts, such as this December 2025 post where he wrote, “If Network NEWSCASTS, and their Late Night Shows, are almost 100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn’t their very valuable Broadcast Licenses be terminated? I say, YES!”
ABC has been in Trump’s crosshairs from early on in his second term. Under FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a MAGA acolyte, local stations were pressured to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” hosted by the famous comedian and longtime Trump critic.
Another ABC show that has been targeted by the administration is “The View,” where several panelists have been openly critical of Trump. The administration has been arguing that shows like “The View” should be required to provide equal time for Republican and right-wing views, despite decades of practice across all broadcast networks to the contrary.
The suit is also a significant reversal for ABC and Disney.
After Trump won the 2024 presidential election, ABC News paid out $15 million in December 2024 to Trump after he sued over the network’s coverage. By and large, law experts had argued that Trump’s suit was frivolous, but the media giant caved to the then-incoming president, likely hoping to garner some good will from him.
Circumstances now are very different. Trump is not coming off an election win. He is stuck in multiple domestic and international crises, and his administration is unpopular. It has tried to silence dissent, while he and his allies, like Paramount Skydance head David Ellison, have sought to buy up existing media and shift its content in a pro-MAGA direction.
Disney’s pivot from caving to fighting marks new establishment resistance to Trump’s excesses.
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