JD Vance is Now Under Fire for Free Speech Concerns • Franknez.com

Vice President JD Vance is turning up the volume on the Trump administration’s media grudge match, openly questioning whether major TV networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS deserve to keep their federal broadcast licenses amid the fallout from Jimmy Kimmel’s short-lived suspension.

In a Thursday interview on Fox News with Laura Ingraham, Vance brushed off concerns about government overreach, insisting the real issue is whether these outlets are truly serving the “public interest”—a vague standard that could open the door to revocations and send chills through newsrooms.

Vance’s remarks come just days after ABC yanked Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its lineup following a pointed monologue where the host jabbed at the MAGA response to the September 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Details of The Situation

Kimmel, riffing on the suspect—a 22-year-old named Tyler Robinson—quipped that the “MAGA gang” was scrambling to spin the killing as anything but a product of their ‘own extremism.’

Hours before the pull, Trump-appointed FCC Chair Brendan Carr had floated the nuclear option, tweeting that the agency could yank ABC’s license if the network didn’t act.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr warned.

“These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

The show was back on ABC airwaves by Tuesday, but not everywhere: MAGA-leaning affiliates like Sinclair and Nexstar kept preempting episodes, leaving viewers in key markets high and dry.

Vance, defending Carr’s tough talk, shrugged it off as mere social media bluster.

“I’d like them to tell me exactly what Brendan Carr did to have Jimmy Kimmel taken off the air,” he said.

“I think that Brendan Carr put out a couple of tweets or a couple of truths, or whatever he did, that does not constitute government coercion.”

But Vance didn’t stop at downplaying the pressure—he went further, casting a wider net over broadcast TV’s very existence.

“I actually think that we should be having a conversation about whether these companies are serving the public interest,” he told Ingraham.

“These broadcast companies—ABC, NBC, CBS—they enjoy the public airwaves because they serve the public interest.”

He stressed that his license musings were “actually totally separate from the Jimmy Kimmel issue because nothing happened to him. He’s currently on the air.”

President Donald Trump’s Take

It’s a line that echoes President Trump’s own gripes from last week, when he griped to reporters that “97 percent” of networks are out to get him.

“I think maybe their license should be taken away,” Trump fumed.

“When you go back and take a look, all they do is hit Trump. They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that.”

Unlike cable giants like CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC—which operate without federal licenses—broadcast affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS must renew every eight years, proving they meet the FCC’s “public interest, convenience and necessity” bar.

It’s a relic of the Radio Act of 1927, meant to keep airwaves from becoming private fiefdoms, but critics worry it’s ripe for abuse in a polarized era.

Free speech advocates are already sounding alarms, calling Vance’s rhetoric a “sinister” step toward state control over satire and criticism.

Did Kimmel Take It Too Far?

Vance wrapped his Fox appearance with a parting shot at Kimmel, demanding an apology to Kirk’s widow, Erika, and “all of the people that he slandered.”

He accused the host of pinning the assassination on “right-wing America,” framing the monologue as a dangerous smear in the wake of Kirk’s death—a sniper attack that’s still raw for conservatives.

This isn’t just talk; it’s part of a pattern.

The FCC under Carr has already eyed probes into networks for “bias,” and with midterms on the horizon, the threat feels like a cudgel to quiet dissent.

For Kimmel, who’s been a thorn in Trump’s side for years, it’s a reminder that late-night laughs can come with real risks and consequences for making false claims.

As Vance sees it, the public airwaves aren’t for punching up—they’re for toeing the line.

But in a country built on the First Amendment, that conversation could get messy fast.

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