The Trump administration was facing an army of furious fans and advocates of "The View" after ABC called on people to fight back against the agency's probe.
More than 77,000 comments were filed with the FCCby defenders of the long-running daytime talk show, which reportedly prompted the show to make booking changes this week.
Fans and advocacy groups made it clear ahead of the July 6 deadline that they were rallying in support of the ABC show. Viewers voiced concern that the show's producers, hosts, and journalists — not the FCC — should decide who appears on air. This came after the FCC revealed in February that it had opened an investigation into the widely watched daytime program.
"How dare you," viewer Angela Thomas wrote. "Trying to control who we watch."
"ABC is our favorite, including 'The View' and Jimmy Kimmel. The comments made on 'The View' and Kimmel are protected under the 1st Amendment and shouldn't be censored. If people don't like it, they don't have to watch. Don't let Trump's witch hunt affect your decision. Keep them in the air," fan Gerald Dulek wrote.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation argued that because the FCC determined "The View" is a "bona fide" news program, revoking that exemption would open the door to more free speech challenges and further retaliation. They also suggested FCC Chair Brendan Carr has focused on his own future.
“Carr may be a lost cause – he clearly made a bet that sacrificing his integrity as a regulator and attorney to hitch his wagon to Trump’s political movement would further his career," the Freedom of the Press Foundation wrote.
The National Women's Law Center expressed concern that the FCC's move was part of the administration's — and President Donald Trump's — aggressive pattern of targeting women in media.
“The FCC’s targeting of The View—and thus the show’s women hosts and viewership—is occurring alongside President Trump’s well-documented verbal attacks on and disparaging of women reporters," the National Women's Law Center wrote.
Black Women’s Roundtable and National Coalition on Black Civic Participation raised concerns that the Trump administration's censorship could disproportionately harm Black audiences.
“While previous Administrations abided by the Communications Act’s prohibition of government censorship of broadcasters, it is abundantly clear that the current Administration has chosen to ignore this provision in its mission to silence the broadcast voices of those with whom it does not agree– and is using the Commission to facilitate this censorship by imposing undue regulatory burdens such as legal requests and investigations of broadcasters.”