NBC, CBS and CNN announced they will air a Democratic response to President Trump’s prime-time speech on the border and ongoing government shutdown from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday, reports NBC News.
The big picture: Networks debated Monday whether they should air Trump's speech — which could be deeply political — given that many skipped a 2014 speech by President Obama on immigration over partisan concerns. However, the decision to air a response from the president's opposing party is not without precedent, as the Washington Post's Dave Weigel notes that networks aired a response from Speaker John Boehner to an Obama debt limit speech in 2011.