The FCC is reviewing ABC’s licenses. The message is clear.

After Trump criticized Jimmy Kimmel, regulators moved against ABC, signaling that speech the president dislikes could trigger retaliation

And there it is.

One day after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump called for ABC to punish late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke they didn’t like, the Federal Communications Commission made the extraordinary and troubling move to review all station licenses owned by ABC.

Officially, the filing is to investigate whether Disney, the owner of ABC, violated any discrimination rules with its diversity and inclusion policies. But the timing made it perfectly clear what this is about: going after Kimmel and ABC for something Kimmel said on his show last week.