Over the weekend, President Donald Trump reversed his stance on the Nexstar-TEGNA merger. However, new polling would show that it would be unpopular with Republican voters.
According to a survey from Public Opinion Strategies, 68% of self-identified Republican voters were opposed to the merger, while only 7% of those voters supported the acquisition.
83% of respondents said they believe local TV stations should be locally owned. 2% said they would prefer local stations be owned by major corporate ownership. An additional 75% of those surveyed said they opposed large corporate TV groups buying local TV stations.
Of those surveyed, 59% siad they were “very convinced” of their stance on the Nexstar-TEGNA merger.
Should the merger go through, Nexstar Media Group would add 64 stations from TEGNA to its already existing stable of 200 stations. That means the company could reach more than 80% of all U.S. households, well surpassing the current limit of 39%.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump urged regulators to get the deal between the two entities completed as soon as possible.
“We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” Trump said. “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. 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!”
The statement from Trump comes after sharing his opposition to removing ownership limits late last year. At that time, he argued that he’d rather see a reduction rather than an expansion.
“NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS,” Trump wrote in a November 2025 Truth Social post. “If anything, make them SMALLER!”
Those comments were on the opposite end of the spectrum of those shared by FCC Chair Brendan Carr. Carr has continually argued for the deal’s approval.
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