Trump speech intensifies pressure campaign against broadcasters
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President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16. Photo: Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images
President Trump threatened again to revoke the broadcast licenses of ABC and NBC on Thursday, after those networks decided not to preempt their regularly scheduled programming to cover his address on election integrity live.
Why it matters: The Federal Communications Commission has already launched probes into broadcasters, alleging their practices violate public interest standards. Those efforts could have serious business consequences.
- "In a rare move, NBC and ABC fake news have both said that they would not cover this speech. They knew what it was about," he said. "Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses."
- The official White House rapid response X account also slammed CNN for not carrying the address live.
State of play: CBS and Fox were the only major broadcasters to preempt their regularly scheduled primetime programming for Trump's speech.
- Fox and Fox News Channel both aired the entire speech in real-time. CBS aired portions of the address live as part of a special news broadcast.
- MS NOW didn't take the full speech live, but also covered some clips in real-time as part of its regularly scheduled news programming.
- ABC, NBC and CNN did not take the program live on linear television, but ABC and NBC aired coverage of the speech on their streaming channels.
Between the lines: The subject of the speech likely pushed the networks to exert caution.
- In his address, the president claimed the Chinese government tried to undermine the 2020 election.
- Networks have been cautious about airing unverified claims by the president and others on the validity of the 2020 election, especially following Fox News' $787 million defamation settlement that it paid for airing election lies.
The big picture: The Trump administration has increased pressure on broadcast networks through a series of FCC investigations and regulatory probes led by chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump ally.
- Carr has opened an investigation into ABC's "The View" over questions surrounding its compliance with federal broadcast rules. ABC is currently facing a license renewal fight with the FCC.
Zoom out: CBS' decision to carry sections of the speech live is notable because broadcasters often move in unison when deciding whether to air a presidential address requested by the White House.
- For example, major broadcast networks largely made the same decision about whether to air President Biden's primetime address on democracy in 2022, and they similarly aligned in their coverage decisions for several major COVID-era presidential addresses.
Context: CBS parent Paramount Skydance has cozied up to the Trump administration as it seeks regulatory approval to close its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
- While the Justice Department has approved the deal, a group of state attorneys general has sued to block the transaction. Paramount is also awaiting regulatory approvals from the U.K. and the European Union before it can close the deal.
