President Donald Trump lashed out at NBC and ABC during his White House address on Thursday, July 16, after both broadcasters declined to air his speech live. It was confirmed several hours before the 80-year-old commander-in-chief's scheduled White House address at 9pm EST on Thursday that neither ABC nor NBC would transmit the speech on television. Instead, the broadcasters opted to stream his address solely on their respective digital platforms, despite widespread expectations that Trump's remarks would centre on the already discredited 2020 presidential election fraud.
Trump's Accusations of Corruption
Trump validated those predictions as he repeatedly referenced election fraud allegations throughout his address, pausing only momentarily from levelling accusations to take aim at NBC and ABC. "In a rare move, NBC and ABC fake news have both said that they would not cover this speech," Trump said. He added, "[ABC and NBC] knew what it was about. Because of the fact they don't like the topic. Because they know how corrupt our system is, and they don't want to reveal it. They and others in the media are a part of a plot. They want to continue this fraud for whatever reason. They want to keep it going."
Demand for Licence Revocation
Trump asserted that the "fraud" perpetrated by ABC and NBC warranted a "revocation" of their "licenses." The networks' decisions were first revealed by journalist Brian Stelter in an X thread published ahead of the White House event. "In sum: Trump will not be getting the wall-to-wall airtime he wants from everyone, but the speech will be widely streamed and available," Brian wrote. White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung blasted the move on X, writing, "Cowards. NBC and ABC don't want you to hear the truth. All they want to do is hide the facts from YOU. Tune in @WhiteHouse at 9:00 pm EDT, where we always get bigger ratings than any of the networks."
Networks' Responses
While an NBC spokesperson merely confirmed to Mediaite that Brian's report was accurate, an ABC representative offered Mediaite an explanation for the decision. "ABC News will run President Trump's speech on ABC News Live and ABC News Radio with comprehensive, anchored 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," the ABC spokesperson told Mediaite.
