Trump Threatens To Cancel ABC’s News Licence After Heated Exchange With Reporter Over Epstein Files

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday turned his ire on an ABC News reporter, reportedly threatening to cancel the news broadcaster's license in response to her question related to the Epstein files. The showdown occurred during a joint press briefing by the US President and the Saudi Crown Prince at the White House. In the press briefing that didn't feel like a routine interview, he openly expressed his anger against the ABC News reporter and threatened to cancel the channel's license. 

According to reports, the exchange took place in the Oval Office while Trump was hosting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was in Washington to seal a new defence pact that includes the sale of F‑35 fighter jets to Riyadh. As the two leaders discussed trade and security, the channel's reporter asked Trump why he had not ordered the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, a question that has become a flashpoint in the ongoing congressional debate over the documents.

Trump’s response was scathing as he replied that “people are wise to your hoax” and accused the channel of being “one of the perpetrators” with a company that produces “fake and wrong” news. He went on to suggest that the Federal Communications Commission should strip its broadcasting license, praising FCC Chairman Brendan Carr as a great commissioner who ought to look into the matter. “When you come in and you’re 97 percent negative to Trump, and then Trump wins the election in a landslide, that means obviously your news is not credible,” he added and told the reporter to “go and look at the Democrats who received money from Epstein.” 

Trump even called the reporter a terrible reporter and a terrible person, ordering her to “learn how to be a reporter” and refusing any further questions from her.

Trump's outburst was witnessed just days earlier, on a flight back from Washington to his Mar‑a‑Lago resort, when the US President had called a Bloomberg journalist “piggy” after she asked whether the released Epstein emails contained anything incriminating. He also dismissed a question from another reporter about a recent interview with former Fox host Tucker Carlson, calling the journalist “the worst” and questioning why their outlet existed. The president’s attacks on the press have intensified in recent weeks, culminating in a Truth Social post on Saturday in which he labelled NBC’s Seth Meyers as suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and demanded that the network fire him immediately. Within half an hour, FCC Chairman Carr shared a screenshot of the post on X, though he offered no comment.

Notably, the latest spat is a series of revelations from the House Oversight Committee, which published emails in which the late financier Jeffrey Epstein mentioned Donald Trump by name, even claiming that the president “knew about the girls” and had asked Ghislaine Maxwell to stop. Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge, telling reporters on Air Force One that he knew nothing about that and that he and Epstein had a very bad relationship for many years. He also described the whole matter as a “Democratic hoax”.

Meanwhile, the House voted in favour of a bill on Tuesday to force the Justice Department to publicly release its files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, overcoming opposition from Trump and Republican leadership. The legislation passed the lower chamber with a 427‑1 margin, and its fate now rests with the Senate.