Donald Trump's Biggest Meltdowns Over ABC News

"ABC 'News' is not journalism — it's a Democrat spin operation masquerading as a broadcast network," President Donald Trump's White House wrote in a statement on November 19, 2025. The statement continued on to accuse the network of targeted hate and misrepresentation of Trump and his administration. "The network's longstanding commitment to hoaxes, character assassinations, and outright fiction targeting only one side of the political aisle is a deliberate deception to wage war on President Trump and the millions of Americans who elected him to multiple terms," it read, in part. The White House's allegations of these big ABC scandals continue the efforts of the former "Miss Universe" owner to disenfranchise the network's right to report, discuss, and criticize his administration. Trump has taken to both his social media and the White House Press Room to openly denounce ABC and have full on Karen meltdowns over their treatment of him. 

ABC has not stayed quiet in their opposition to Trump's policies and behaviors, but open criticism of the president is allowed and something that Trump and his loyalists are very familiar with, given their ongoing negative dialogue surrounding former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. When their discussion of Trump's presidency go beyond anything besides praise, their entire efforts are deconstructed and repackaged to the MAGA movement as 'fake news' and typically met with a classic Trump meltdown. 

In September 2025, Pam Bondi, US Attorney General, announced that she would target hate speech, a legally protected right under the First Amendment. Her declaration caused outrage across both parties. Brit Hume from Fox News, long-standing supporters of Donald Trump, tweeted in direct opposition to Bondi's claims, saying "Someone needs to explain to Ms. Bondi that so-called 'hate speech,' repulsive though it may be, is protected by the First Amendment. She should know this."

When President Donald Trump was asked by ABC's Jon Karl to clarify what his cabinet member meant by this assertion, he responded, (via Deadline) "She'll probably go after people like you, because you treat me so unfairly. You have a lot of hate in your heart." The president continued, (via Deadline) "Maybe they will come after ABC. ABC paid me $16 million recently for a form of hate speech. Your company paid me $16 million for a form of hate speech, so maybe they will have to go after you."

The lawsuit that Trump referred to was in fact not about hate speech, but rather about libel. His January 2025 legal dispute with the broadcasting company started after George Stephanopoulos misconstrued a sexual assault charge against the president as rape. The words were determined to have caused damage to Trump's reputation, but were not direct expressions of hate or violence, which the president framed them as in September 2025. 

In October 2025, "Good Morning America" host George Stephanopoulos interviewed Vice President JD Vance. Though the conversation started civilly, it quickly devolved as tensions rose between the men. When the GMA host noticed that Vance was avoiding his questions and framing Stephanopoulos' words in an unfavorable way, he abruptly ended the interview and moved the show forward with a different segment. "Good Morning America," an ABC show, faced quite a bit of backlash from the curt call between the reporter and the vice president, but none as bad as President Donald Trump's response. 

Just a couple of days following the interview, with the Argentinian leader Javier Milei by his side, Trump welcomed questions from a team of nearby reporters. The room erupted in voices calling out to the president, but through them all he pointed to one reporter in particular. Not to allow her to ask a question, but instead to reject any and all questions from her in a short rant. "You're ABC fake news, I don't take questions from ABC fake news," (via The Hill) he started in on the journalist, "After what you did with Stephanopoulos to the vice president of the United States — I don't take questions from ABC fake news." 

In November 2025, the White House welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who sat down with President Donald Trump to answer questions fielded by the White House Press Corp. Among the crowd of reporters was ABC journalist and the network's chief White House correspondent, Mary Bruce. Asking if it is appropriate for Trump's family to be conducting business in Saudi Arabia while he was in office, Bruce turned her attention to the prince and asked how Americans could trust him after his government was linked to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

In response, the president claimed that a lot of people didn't like Khashoggi and dismissed the US investigation into his death, which was a shocking contrast to the prince's response, who called the killing painful and a big mistake. As Bruce pressed one last question, this time about the Epstein Files, Trump shot back (via the Associated Press), "It's not the question that I mind, it's your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It's the way you ask these questions." His attack continued, labeling her as insubordinate, a strange and telling insult that speaks to Trump's continued belief that the media should bend to his every will and whim. Trump tied up his rant by falling back on his tried and tired allegation that ABC is "fake news."

When President Donald Trump has gone through all his typical meltdown tactics, he falls back on his call for ABC's license to be revoked. The first time he threatened to revoke their right to broadcast was back in August 2025. After the president claimed that 97% of ABC's stories about him were negative and showed clear signs of siding with the Democrat party, he was struck with an idea. He ended his denouncement of the network by calling for their license to be revoked. He framed this declaration as not a means to protect him from criticism, but a response to their narrative around the Republican party. 

It didn't take long for him to make the same call to action in September 2025. He reiterated his desire for broadcasting networks that he viewed as negative toward him to lose their right to use the airways. After October 2025 went by without a claim, ABC must've thought it was in the clear, that is until November 2025 when he declared ABC should lose their license ... again. "People are wise to your hoax. Your crappy company is one of the perpetrators," he told the journalist after being questioned about the Epstein Files (via CNBC) , "And I'll tell you something, I think the license should be taken away from ABC. Because your news is so fake and so wrong." 

In September 2025, after Jimmy Kimmel made remarks about Donald Trump's response to Charlie Kirk's death, his show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was suspended. The show's temporary removal was met with praise by the former "Apprentice" host, who claimed that (via PBS), "They should have fired him a long time ago, so you know, you can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent." When Kimmel's late-night show was reinstated in its regular time slot a week later, ABC and the host himself did not escape the hateful grasps of the president. On November 20, 2025, at nearly 1 a.m., Trump posted to his Truth Social a call for the removal of Kimmel once again with a bitter jab toward ABC.

"Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?" The former "Miss Universe" owner asked his millions of followers, "Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!" Trump's early morning rant about Kimmel came after the late-night show's monologue centered the president's alleged connection to the Epstein Files, treatment of members of Congress, and Trump's many money problems. Within his complaint about Kimmel came his reliable insult to the network, referring to it as his popularized phrase: fake news.