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ABC News, NBC News and CNN avoided airing President Donald Trump’s primetime speech live on Thursday that addressed election security and apparent vulnerabilities during the 2020 election.
Trump alleged that “vital information” about the 2020 election had been “covered up and hidden” from the American people. He accused China of meddling in the 2020 election, claiming newly declassified documents include CIA reporting alleging the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sought to prevent his reelection, as well as intelligence from the FBI claiming China attempted to manufacture illegal ballots for Joe Biden in that election.
Leading up to the primetime address, the five liberal networks developed their own plans on how to handle Trump’s remarks.
TRUMP RELEASES DECLASSIFIED ELECTION INTELLIGENCE, SAYS IT REVEALS ‘SHOCKING VULNERABILITIES’
A CNN spokesperson earlier told Fox News Digital it planned to cover Trump’s speech “as a news event, and monitor it for news developments” and provide on-air analysis and commentary. The network made the speech available on its website and on its streaming platform.
CNN anchor John King explained to viewers the network’s decision, saying it’s “because this president, sadly, has a history of misleading, and in some cases, simply false statements” on elections and election security, adding that CNN wanted to independently verify newly declassified documents released by the Trump administration.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ADDRESSES THE NATION ON ELECTION INTEGRITY IN PRIMETIME WHITE HOUSE SPEECH
ABC News carried Trump’s speech on its streaming platform and ABC News Radio. A spokesperson for the network previously told Fox News Digital that regular ABC newscasts will cover the speech. NBC News similarly carried the address on its streaming platform and later aired a special report on the broadcast network.
Both networks aired special reports recapping Trump’s remarks moments after he finished during their normally scheduled programming.
ABC and NBC stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting Group did preempt the networks and air the speech, however,
Trump took a moment of his address to slam 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 reveal it,” Trump said. “They and others in the media are part of a plot. They want to continue this fraud 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 a revocation of their licenses. They use our public, multi-billion dollar in value airwaves for absolutely no money. They pay nothing. All we want is honesty in our elections and honesty in reporting. They pay nothing for multi-billion dollar assets.”
ABC News and NBC News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
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CBS News aired a special report that initially provided analysis before dipping into the speech minutes after Trump began speaking and cut away moments after Trump’s attacks towards ABC and NBC. MS NOW carried the first 15 minutes of his speech live before dipping out to provide commentary. Fox News carried the speech in its entirety.
Networks skipping presidential primetime addresses is not unprecedented. ABC, CBS and NBC chose not to air President Barack Obama’s 2014 primetime speech on immigration. The three broadcast networks similarly avoided President Joe Biden’s speech outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in 2022 that attacked MAGA Republicans.