Trump tells right-wing host he’ll 'stop' car companies from removing AM radio

President Donald Trump has an affinity for calling into his favorite media programs, such as his frequent calls to Fox & Friends. On Tuesday, he called WABC radio host Sid Rosenberg to chat about wide-ranging issues like the war with Iran and China, but he also delved into a less pressing topic: AM radio.

“I guess they want to take it off the cars or something?” ranted the president. “I heard they want to take it. I got to stop that. Why are they doing that? Tell me.”

Trump was referring to efforts by auto manufacturers to remove AM radios from newly-produced vehicles, which, as he noted during his radio call-in, he has opposed since his first term.

While many automakers have begun phasing out AM radios, there has been something of a bipartisan effort to protect them. During the Biden administration, this coalesced into a congressional attempt to pass the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which failed at the time, but was reintroduced last year. Proponents of the bill argue that AM radios are essential for providing information in certain emergency situations, and that they provide a vital platform for smaller local producers who don’t have the budget or reach of FM and digital stations.

But Trump has expressed a more transactional reason for supporting AM.

“I will protect the content that is pro-God,” he said during a 2024 National Religious Broadcasters convention. “To that end, at the request of the NRB, I will do my part to protect AM radio in our cars. We like to listen to AM radio because you know what we’re listening to. Millions of Americans value listening to Christian broadcasters and you’re under siege.” The religious right has represented one of Trump’s key voting blocs over the course of his political career.

While Trump has asserted the importance of AM radio and free speech, his administration has also taken efforts to suppress the speech of AM stations whose programming doesn’t align with his agenda. Last year, for example, after San Francisco’s KCBS-AM briefly reported on the local activities of immigration agents, the station was investigated by the Trump-appointed FCC chairman Brendan Carr, which effectively repressed the outlet’s political reporting.

“’Chilling effect’ does not begin to describe the neutering of our political coverage,” said station reporter Doug Sovern.

Trump’s Tuesday call, however, was with a sympathetic station that he has called frequently over the years. Host Sid Rosenberg was not shy about his loyalty to the president, declaring, “You're the greatest president of all time and the most interesting human being that God ever created. I swear to God you're a genius. I love you.”

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