In legal dispute over 'The View,' ABC argues Trump administration is trying to chill free speech

U.S. President Joe Biden joins ABC's "The View" for a live interview in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. With the president are Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

NEW YORK — In a strongly worded filing, ABC accuses the Trump administration of trying to chill its constitutionally protected free speech and hinder open political discussion.

The point of contention: The popular show “The View,” and whether it’s subject to equal time rules.

ABC’s filing to the Federal Communications Commission, made public Friday, came in a dispute involving one ABC station in Houston, KTRK-TV. But the wording indicated the network was embarking on a broader battle with the administration.

“The Commission’s actions threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to The View and more broadly,” said the filing on behalf of both KTRK-TV and ABC.

The commission replied, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, that equal time law “encourages more speech and empowers voters to decide the outcome of elections. The FCC will review Disney’s assertion that ‘The View’ is a ‘bona fide news program’ and thus exempt from the political equal time rules.”

The ABC filing appeared to be the latest volley inside and outside the legal arena between the U.S. media and the Trump White House over what journalists perceive as the president’s attack on free speech and the media’s ability to do its job. Trump has been critical of media outlets whose journalism runs counter to his agenda and sensibilities.

Among legal battles in the courts: a dispute between the Pentagon and The New York Times over access; a battle between the White House and The Associated Press over how to refer to the Gulf of Mexico; and Trump’s anger at The Wall Street Journal over reporting about Jeffrey Epstein.

The dispute concerns content on “The View,” ABC’s long-running morning talk show, which combines entertainment and political interviews and often features commentary critical of Trump. The filing referenced the FCC’s revisiting, with legal action, the question of whether “The View” should fall under equal time rules. The rules require granting equal airtime to competing candidates for office.

At issue: Whether ‘The View’ is subject to equal time rules

News programs are exempt from the rules. Trump’s FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, has indicated he intends to argue that “The View” is not a so-called “bona fide news program.” The issue could affect other shows that similarly combine entertainment and politics.

In its filing, ABC argued that “‘The View’ has been broadcasting under a bona fide news exemption granted to it more than twenty years ago, consistent with longstanding Commission interpretations designed to minimize the serious First Amendment problems inherent in the equal time regime.”

The network also argued that the decades-old equal time doctrine was not attuned to the realities of the present day, when “the broadcast airwaves account for a slice of the numerous media options through which Americans get their political information. Indeed, the marketplace of ideas has never been more robust, and people can hear virtually any brand of political commentary by listening to a podcast, watching cable, scrolling social media, or streaming on a phone, computer or connected TV. The free flow of ideas flourishes on these non-broadcast platforms even though the equal opportunities rule does not apply there.”

ABC argues that free political discourse is needed now more than ever

Narrowing the FCC’s longtime approach to so-called “bona fide news exemptions,” it said, “would risk restricting political discourse exactly when it is needed most.”

The administration’s criticism of “The View” echoes its displeasure with late-night news hosts who criticize Trump – especially ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.

Donald and Melania Trump recently both called for ABC to fire Kimmel for a joke in which the comic described the first lady as having “the glow of an expectant widow.”

The joke came two nights before the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which was cut short when a man armed with guns and knives tried to enter the Washington ballroom where the Trumps were gathered along with much of the nation’s leadership and Washington media. Kimmel said the joke was a light roast about the couple’s age difference — and certainly not a reference to assassination.

In a footnote, ABC noted that “The View” has long featured a panel including women of different backgrounds to discuss issues of the day.

“Although the lineup of the co-hosts has changed over the years, ‘The View’ has consistently prioritized having a panel of women from different backgrounds in order to facilitate interesting discourse and the exchange of divergent perspectives,” it said.

Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press