Major Networks Decline to Air Trump Address on Election Fraud Claims

Several major broadcast networks, including ABC and NBC, will not carry President Donald Trump’s closely watched address live on their main prime-time feeds, as he prepares to speak on some of the most urgent issues facing his administration and his views on election fraud.

The White House has offered several signals about what may be behind Thursday’s remarks. But sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Trump could use the speech to reveal whether China interfered in the 2020 presidential election.

Ahead of the address, the president teased the announcement, saying he had “really, really big news” to share with Americans.

ABC said in a statement to multiple media organizations that Trump’s remarks would be streamed live on its affiliated digital streaming platforms, rather than shown on its prime-time network programming.

“We will also cover the speech in our regular network newscasts and, as always, our Special Report team is fully prepared to break into network programming to deliver live updates and reporting should significant developments occur,” ABC said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.

NBC is taking a similar approach, choosing to stream the president’s speech on its free service, NBC News Now, according to a source familiar with the decision who spoke to Reuters.

CBS News and Fox News have not yet said whether they plan to broadcast Trump’s address on their prime-time channels.

CNN told the Hollywood Reporter it would treat the president’s remarks “as a news event, and monitor it for news developments, providing analysis and commentary from CNN experts who cover elections, intelligence and the FBI.”

Federal Communications ​Commission Chair Brendan Carr encouraged all stations to air the president’s remarks during a NewsNation interview on Wednesday.  

‘This is something that the American people have every right to be able to get over the airwaves,’ he added. 

When asked about the speech at Thursday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt encouraged networks to air the speech live. 

She added that it was ‘also very possible’ that Trump would update the nation on the war in Iran and the economy. 

Trump addressed the country earlier this year about the Iran war, which prime-time networks aired live. 

However, it is not unprecedented for major news networks not to air every presidential address. 

Presidents George W Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have all had requests denied to air remarks live on news stations. 

Trump’s speech may also come with political and legal concerns for the networks. Fox News shelled out $787 million in 2023 after it was accused of airing false claims about election interference. 

Trump has long spread conspiracy theories that his loss to Biden in 2020 was a result of a stolen election. 

His claims have gained traction among his MAGA allies; however, multiple state audits and investigations have proven that Biden rightfully won the presidential election. 

Trump had previously claimed that Dominion Voting Systems, which owns voting machine technology, was used to flip votes in key swing states in favor of Biden. 

Sidney Powell, one of Trump’s lawyers, filed four lawsuits asserting the claim, but none gained traction. 

The president has also claimed that foreign agents in Venezuela and China. Another voting technology company, Smartmatic, was also accused of election interference by Trump and his allies because its founders were born in Venezuela. 

This is a breaking news story…