'Merry Christmas!' Declares Trump Moments After Threat to Destroy Broadcasters Who Air Criticism of Him

President Donald Trump sent out a cheery Christmas greeting early Wednesday morning just three minutes after threatening to shut down US broadcasters if their programs did not provide him with more positive coverage.

In a Truth Social post sent out at 12:36 am, Trump renewed his threat to once again strip broadcast licenses from networks that cover or portray him and his administration in a negative light.

"If Network NEWSCASTS, and their Late Night Shows, are almost 100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn’t their very valuable Broadcast Licenses be terminated?" Trump wrote. "I say, YES!"

Just three minutes afterward, at 12:39 am, Trump posted an all-caps message that read, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!"

It is unclear what sparked Trump's latest threat, although shortly before it was posted he lashed out at comedian Stephen Colbert, whose time hosting CBS' "The Late Show" is set to end in May 2026.

"Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success," he wrote. "Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings. Stephen is running on hatred and fumes. A dead man walking! CBS should, 'put him to sleep,' NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!"

While Trump frequently delivered angry rants about media coverage throughout his first term, his words appear to be carrying significantly more weight during his second term.

For example, the announcement of Colbert's cancellation raised eyebrows earlier this year because it came shortly before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) signed off on an $8 billion deal for CBS parent company Paramount to be bought by Skydance Media, the company founded by David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison.

Weeks after this, Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to rescind broadcast licenses for Disney-owned ABC unless it took late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, a frequent Trump critic, off the air. Hours after Carr's threat, Kimmel's show was suspended before being put back on the air days later amid a public outcry.

Over the weekend, CBS News boss Bari Weiss spiked a segment on the network's flagship news program "60 Minutes" that cast a critical eye on the Trump administration for sending hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to a notorious El Salvadoran prison where they were allegedly subjected to abuse and torture.

Weiss' decision to at least temporarily quash the story came as Larry Ellison is making a hostile bid to buy Warner Brothers Discovery that will once again need FCC approval in the future in order to succeed.