President Trump threatens to revoke NBC’s broadcast license over #FakeNews

President Trump on Wednesday forcefully denied an NBC News report that he asked to dramatically expand the U.S. nuclear arsenal and suggested he might pull the network’s broadcasting license.

“Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a ‘tenfold’ increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!” he tweeted.

In a subsequent tweet, the president wrote: “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!”

The news network on Wednesday reported the president’s request, which it said shocked top military brass and senior administration officials.  

The request was what reportedly led Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to call Trump a “moron.” A State Department spokesperson later denied Tillerson used that word to insult Trump.

At a July meeting at the Pentagon, the president said he wanted to expand the country’s nuclear capabilities after seeing data showing the U.S. weapons stockpile decreasing over the past 50 years, according to the report. 

Top military officials reportedly told him that such a buildup would be prohibitively expensive and violate international disarmament treaties.

Trump’s threat against NBC alarmed some media figures and policy makers, who viewed it as an attempt to infringe on free-speech rights. Others said stripping a broadcast license is not feasible.