FCC chair rejects Trump’s call to revoke CBS license over Harris interview edit

Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel rejected former President Donald Trump’s call to revoke CBS’s broadcast license on Thursday, calling it a familiar threat that “should not be ignored.”

Trump called for the license to be revoked after the network shared two different edits of a recent 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump criticized the interview as “a giant Fake News Scam” in a Truth Social post on Thursday and claimed the network replaced her answer on a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “in order to save her or, at least, make her look better.”

“TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE,” he added. “Election Interference.”

“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,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “As I’ve said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.”