ABC News, NBC News and CNN skip airing Trump’s election speech live
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ABC News, NBC News and CNN refrained from livestreaming President Donald Trump’s primetime speech Thursday, which touched on election security and apparent vulnerabilities during the 2020 election.
Trump claimed that “vital information” about the 2020 election was “covered up and hidden” from the American people. He accused China of interfering in the 2020 election and claimed that the newly declassified documents included CIA reports claiming that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was trying to prevent him from being re-elected, as well as FBI intelligence alleging that China was trying to illegally produce ballots for Joe Biden in that election.
Ahead of the first speech, five liberal networks developed their own plans for how to handle Trump’s remarks.
TRUMP SAID DECLASSIFIED ELECTION INTELLIGENCE REVEALED ‘SHOCKING VULNERABILITY’
ABC, NBC and CNN chose not to air President Donald Trump’s first speech on election security live on their broadcasts. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)
A CNN spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that it plans to broadcast Trump’s speech “as a news event and monitor for news developments” and offer live analysis and commentary. The network posted the speech on its website and streaming platform.
CNN host John King explained the network’s decision to viewers, saying it was because “this president, unfortunately, has a track record of misleading and in some cases simply making false statements about elections and election security,” adding that CNN wanted to independently verify newly declassified documents released by the Trump administration.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ADDRESSED THE NATION ON ELECTION INTEGRITY IN WHITE HOUSE PRIMETIME SPEECH
ABC News aired Trump’s speech on its streaming platform and ABC News Radio. A spokesperson for the network previously told Fox News Digital that the speech would be featured on regular ABC news broadcasts. NBC News similarly carried the address on its streaming platform and later aired a special report on its broadcast network.
Both networks aired special reports summarizing Trump’s remarks immediately after he finished his normally scheduled programming.
ABC and NBC stations, owned by Sinclair Broadcasting Group, disabled the networks and aired the speech.
President Donald Trump claimed “vital information” about the 2020 election, including allegations of Chinese interference, was being withheld from the American people. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump took a moment from his speech to criticize ABC and NBC for their decisions, declaring them “fake news.”
“They don’t like the topic because they know how corrupt our system is and they don’t want to expose it,” Trump said. “They and others in the media are part of a conspiracy. They want to keep this scam going for whatever reason. They want to keep it going. They want to protect the radical left. They can’t have a great country — and that’s true — you can’t have a great country without free and fair elections.”
He continued, “Fraud like this should mean revocation of their license. They use billions of dollars of our public broadcasts for absolutely no money. They pay nothing. All we ask for is integrity in our elections and honesty in reporting. They pay nothing for billions of dollars in assets.”
ABC News and NBC News did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
NEW YORK TIMES SLAMS TRUMP’S ‘BAD AUTHORITY’ COURTS WHO TARGETED REPORTERS’ RESOURCES
President Donald Trump accused ABC and NBC of “fake news” for their decision not to broadcast his speech live and suggested their broadcast licenses should be revoked. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
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CBS News aired an exclusive report providing analysis before diving into the conversation minutes after Trump began speaking, cutting to moments following Trump’s attacks on ABC and NBC. MS NOW livestreamed the first 15 minutes of his speech before he left for comment. Fox News reported the entire conversation.
It’s not unprecedented for networks to skip presidential prime-time addresses. ABC, CBS and NBC chose not to air President Barack Obama’s 2014 prime time speech on immigration. All three broadcast networks similarly avoided President Joe Biden’s 2022 speech attacking MAGA Republicans outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.
