Nicolai Haugsted
ABC and NBC snub Trump’s prime-time address—he demands their licenses revoked.
Television coverage became part of the story even before Donald Trump stepped in front of the cameras Thursday evening.
Several major U.S. broadcasters chose not to carry the president’s address on their primary television channels, a decision that prompted an angry response from Trump as he unveiled fresh claims about foreign interference in the 2020 election.
Trump’s speech focused on documents the White House says will be declassified to expose alleged Chinese efforts to gain access to American voter data and interfere in the 2020 presidential race.
Ahead of the address, ABC and NBC announced they would stream the remarks on their digital news platforms rather than interrupt their regular prime-time schedules. Both networks said they would continue covering the speech through their news programming and provide updates if major developments emerged.
Fox News, Newsmax, CNN, CBS and MS NOW all carried the address.
Trump used part of his speech to criticize the broadcasters that opted against showing it on their main television networks.
“They don’t like the topic because they know how corrupt our system is and they don’t want to reveal it.”
The president went on to argue that broadcasters refusing to air speeches concerning alleged election fraud should risk losing their broadcasting licenses.
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White House joins criticism
Trump’s communications team quickly echoed the president’s frustration.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung accused ABC and NBC of deliberately preventing Americans from hearing the president’s message.
“NBC and ABC don’t want you to hear the truth. All they want to do is hide the facts from YOU.”
Meanwhile, ABC maintained that the speech would be available through its streaming services while remaining part of the network’s broader news coverage.
“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.”
Fresh election claims
During the address, Trump alleged that China obtained information from 220 million American voter files in what he described as the largest election interference operation in U.S. history.
The president also claimed Venezuela had participated in efforts to influence American elections and accused what he called the “deep state” of helping conceal the alleged activities.
The latest accusations revive Trump’s long-running focus on election integrity, an issue he has repeatedly placed at the center of his political messaging ahead of November’s midterm elections.
