Policyband

Trump Whacks FCC’s 39% Cap in Calling for Approval of the Nexstar-TEGNA Merger

‘Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar - Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level,’ Trump says.

Ted Hearn

Feb 9, 2026 — 10 min read

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▪️ Report: FCC Opens Probe of ABC’s The View over ‘Equal Opportunities’ Rule ▪️ACLP Study: BEAD Will Leave Behind 1.34 Million Units without Robust Broadband ▪️Neera Tanden’s Left-Wing Think Tank Backs Viktor Orbán’s Phone-Free School Policy ▪️CostQuest: Cable ISPs Running into Double Fiber Coverage ▪️Jim Holanda Starts Feb. 16 as Cable One’s New CEO ▪️Wiley Partner Thomas Johnson Added to 39% Cap Witness List ▪️Moran Senate Panel to Look at BEAD Program ▪️Giuseppe Commisso Named Mediacom CEO ▪️N.Y. Post: Pelosi Backs Kennedy Scion Schlossberg in House Primary ▪️Verizon, Cox Media Reach WPXI Retrans Deal Prior to Super Bowl ▪️Concerned New Brunswick Premier Dropping X for Routine Posts

Merger: It’s been nice knowing you, 39% cap. But you just became roadkill in only month two of Project 2026. On Saturday, President Trump announced his full support for the Nexstar-TEGNA merger, a massive political triumph for Nexstar CEO Perry Sook over Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy. Trump’s move also signaled his total trust in FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to realign a TV station sector under competitive duress from both legacy media giants and massive trillion-dollar Big Tech companies. Shockingly, in a flash, Ruddy went from lethal merger assassin to benign ankle-biter incapable of stopping the deal. “We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks. Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar - Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level,” Trump said in a Truth Social post to his 11.7 million followers. The president also seemed to message his personal friend Ruddy about the big TV station deal. “Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future. GET THAT DEAL DONE! PRESIDENT DJT,” he said. AP’s story framed Trump’s support as an “apparent” flip flop, though the President never explicitly said he opposed Nexstar-TEGNA. (More after paywall.)