Trump Demands FCC Revoke CBS's Broadcasting License In Unhinged Rant About '60 Minutes'

President Donald Trump was called out after sharing his displeasure on Truth Social over the news program 60 Minutes and directing Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to revoke CBS's broadcasting license.

Trump’s remarks came after 60 Minutes aired segments on Ukraine and Greenland, both of which the president claimed portrayed him negatively. While the exact trigger for his anger remains unclear, both segments included foreign leaders criticizing Trump.

Trump also pointed to his October lawsuit against CBS News as further evidence of what he claims is media bias. The suit targets a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, which aired just before the 2024 election. Trump claims the segment was deceptively edited to make Harris look good, accusing the network of stacking the deck in her favor during a critical campaign moment.

While airing these grievances, Trump insisted CBS's license should be revoked post haste, writing:

"Almost every week, 60 Minutes, which is being sued for Billions of Dollars for the fraud they committed in the 2024 Presidential Election with their Interview of Failed Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, mentions the name ‘TRUMP’ in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend’s ‘BROADCAST’ tops them all."

“They did not one, but TWO, major stories on ‘TRUMP,’ one having to do with Ukraine, which I say is a War that would never have happened if the 2020 Election had not been RIGGED, in other words, if I were President and, the other story was having to do with Greenland, casting our Country, as led by me, falsely, inaccurately, and fraudulently."

"I am so honored to be suing 60 Minutes, CBS Fake News, and Paramount, over their fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting. They did everything possible to illegally elect Kamala, including completely and corruptly changing major answers to Interview questions, but it just doesn't work for them."

"They are not a "News Show," but a dishonest Political Operative simply disguised as "News," and must be responsible for what they have done, and are doing. They should lose their license! Hopefully, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as headed by its Highly Respected Chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior."

"CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

You can see what Trump wrote below.

@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

Trump unequivocally expressed his ire over 60 Minutes' inclusion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Trump doesn't have the full picture of what's happening in Ukraine.

In the Ukraine segment, Zelenskyy told 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, “Russian narratives are prevailing in the U.S.” and extended an invitation for Trump to visit the country. He urged Trump to "before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children, destroyed or dead."

In response, Trump wrote:

"The War between Russia and Ukraine is Biden’s war, not mine. I just got here, and for four years during my term, had no problem in preventing it from happening. President Putin, and everyone else, respected your President!"

"I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS WAR, BUT AM WORKING DILIGENTLY TO GET THE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION TO STOP. If the 2020 Presidential Election was not RIGGED, and it was, in so many ways, that horrible War would never have happened. President Zelenskyy and Crooked Joe Biden did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin."

"There were so many ways of preventing it from ever starting. But that is the past. Now we have to get it to STOP, AND FAST. SO SAD!"

You can see what Trump wrote below.

@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

But it's not "Biden's war."

Trump's remarks are a fiction—especially when you consider that in the weeks before the invasion, Russia had issued several security demands the United States and its allies rejected.

Russian President Vladimir Putin aims to curtail the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), seeking to bar Ukraine from joining the alliance in a bid to assert Russia’s influence over its neighbors, aspirations that gained further prominence after Putin seized the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Although Ukraine is not yet a member of NATO, it is partnered with the military alliance. This development angered Putin, who views Ukraine not as an independent nation but as land lost as a result of the end of the Cold War, which resulted in the Soviet Union's collapse and diminished Russia's superpower status.

Putin had left world leaders guessing as to whether or not he actually wanted to proceed with an invasion, though he clearly wants NATO to curb military exercises in Ukraine and in other former Soviet satellite states. These demands have ultimately resulted in a diplomatic stalemate.

Remarkably, Trump's competing fictions about his relationships with NATO member states and the fate of Ukrainian sovereignty are further muddled by the fact that his first impeachment was initiated in part because he'd encouraged Ukrainian leadership to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden for “political dirt” he could wield against his opponent.

Trump was ultimately acquitted by the Senate in early 2020 following a highly contentious trial, and he touted the acquittal as a sign of his innocence in the matter. He has claimed without evidence that the scandal was a Democratic plot to topple his presidency.

Many have harshly condemned Trump's outburst.

Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance escalated tensions with Kyiv on Monday, firing back at Zelenskyy and underscoring the strain between the White House and Ukraine.

In a statement to Politico, his press secretary Taylor Van Kirk called Zelenskyy’s remarks “counterproductive” and claimed the war itself was the result of “Joe Biden’s weakness and incompetence.” She added that rather than “mischaracterizing” Vance’s position, Zelenskyy should be focused on ending the conflict “peacefully.”

Trump’s calls to yank broadcasters’ licenses are nothing new. He made the same demand last year after ABC hosted his debate with Harris—an event widely seen as a win for the vice president. Trump and his allies cried foul, accusing moderators of grilling him with fact-checks while giving Harris a pass.

It’s a familiar playbook. During his first term, Trump regularly branded the press “enemies of the people” and floated the idea of locking up journalists who wouldn’t reveal their sources.