Major Networks, Cable News Will Air Trump’s Address as Democrats Demand Equal Airtime
“Now that the television networks have decided to air the President’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime.”
President Donald Trump tweeted today that he will give a national address on the situation on our southern border. He will travel to the area on Thursday.
After hours of “will they, won’t they” coverage, the broadcast networks and cable news networks decided they will broadcast Trump on Tuesday night. Only CBS confirmed the broadcast by Monday evening.
However, their decision led to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to demand equal airtime.
I am pleased to inform you that I will Address the Nation on the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border. Tuesday night at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2019
From CNN Business:
The major television networks will provide wall-to-wall coverage of President Donald Trump’s prime time address on border security on Tuesday.
NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox broadcast network all said on Monday that they had agreed to the White House’s request for air time.
CNN, Fox News and MSNBC will all carry the address live, as well.
CNN and Fox News had stated that each intended “to air Trump’s address,” but did not confirm it until later. When I wrote this post Monday evening, only CBS confirmed its decision.
But the Democrats want the same amount of airtime. Schumer and Pelosi wrote in a statement that since “television networks have decided to air the President’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime.”
Now that the television networks have decided to air the President’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime.
My statement with @SpeakerPelosi: pic.twitter.com/KIQPrdXEeg
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 8, 2019
*Previous reporting…
Only CBS has chosen to broadcast the address at 9PM ET. The other networks have not commented or decided to do the same.
From CNN Business:
One of the TV executives who spoke to CNN Business confirmed that the White House had requested time for the speech, as is customary in the relationship between a president and the press.
“Time has been requested for 9 p.m. Networks are deliberating,” the network executive said.
Trump is almost certain to go ahead with the address regardless of what the broadcast networks do.
Spokespeople for CNN and Fox News said their networks would air the address. A spokesman for MSNBC said the channel’s coverage plans were “still being discussed.” It would be highly unusual for the cable news networks not to air a presidential prime time address.
Granted it is last minute and networks usually air the winter premieres of their shows. Plus the 9PM slot is usually set for their prime programs.
However, I cannot wonder if they would do this to failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. I know it’s not the first time networks have resisted a live broadcast, but something tells me it’s different with Trump.
CNN at least admits it: “With Trump, there are other factors to consider, including his record of deception and his tendency to ramble off script in long speeches.”
Record of deception. My goodness, I am no Trump fan, but find me another president that has always been 100% honest.
There is absolutely zero benefit to viewers of networks covering this live as opposed to on a sufficient delay for 1. journalists to fact check and contextualize and 2. Pelosi or Schumer to be given a similarly prominent opportunity to respond. https://t.co/RzVE9vMkzO
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 7, 2019
I responded to Hennessey that everyone needs to favorite her tweet so we can use it in the future, mainly the part about fact checking and contextualizing the speech. Heritage’s Lyndsey Fifield said:
Okay—networks don’t want to cover Trump’s address? Fine.
They should also agree not to give any analysis of it thereafter.
You can’t say it’s your mission to inform people and then, in lieu of informing them, give them only a manipulative version of events.
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) January 7, 2019
My friend Kira Davis at Townhall had a few good points:
So the networks are thinking of not covering Trump’s speech? I call BS. The anchors don’t make these decisions, the people who run the companies do and those people like to make $$ which is the only reason there are news shows at all. #AdRevenue
— Kira (@RealKiraDavis) January 7, 2019
Let’s say they do decide to forgo the ad revenue& ratings points – WTH does it even matter at this point? The President doesn’t need network tv to be heard anymore. He can stream from any number of platforms and get just as many viewers. This is all ridiculous grandstanding.
— Kira (@RealKiraDavis) January 7, 2019
Financial expert Carol Roth tweeted:
This is so bizarre. The networks have been covering every single time Trump sneezes since the moment he announced his candidacy, to the point of exhaustive lunacy. Now, he is doing an official address and there’s a question on whether to air it? https://t.co/yp9BZHHY9r
— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) January 7, 2019
It’s Donald Trump!! People will tune in because they either love or hate him. I’ll probably watch hockey unless the bossman wants me to watch.
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Comments
Democrats want equal time for a rebuttal? This is not a State of the Union address.
Dems had their time when Odumbo was ruling the roost, now is their timeout time.
“Re-Butt We Must.”
LOL
Tell them that the 22nd Amendment is going to be repealed this year.
Effectively we’ll be getting two State of the Union addresses this year, both within this month. Trump can not collapse on this issue; and he knows it. Everything he’s achieved so far and what he hopes to do, most notably his re-election, will be lost. I know he’s done it in the past, but he has to continue to lay out the devastating facts of what illegal immigration does to our country. Of course the Ds won’t be persuaded, because they refuse be persuaded. Their aim to fundamentally transform this country, not perpetuate the concept of the Constitution’s ideals.
This is the new standard, the opposition being allowed an immediate rebuttal once the Presidential address has been completed…of course this new standard will only last as long as the President has an R after his name.
And guess which one Democrat media machine (but I repeat myself) will focus its energy on?
The President has asked for only 8 minutes. This is clearly not an overall policy justification, but more of a “done deal” announcement.
I’m OK with that. It would make the dem response a lot more fun to watch.
He should just keep talking for 55 minutes.
Make them cut him off or cut into the Dems time before the 10 o’clock shows are scheduled to air
It’s not like the Dems won’t have the next 48 hours straight of news coverage all to themselves
Off topic, but I wanted to let the admins know the link to the forum part of this site appears to be broken.
I hope he has some Border Patrol/ICE authorities there to back him up. That way if the media and Dems accuse him of “spewing lies”, they will have to denigrate the professionals as well. If he has none tonight, hopefully he will at the border tomorrow.
Due to the short request for time, this will be an announcement and not a policy statement. I hope and pray that Trump can refrain from using “Wonderful” and “Great” while stating the basic facts for his announcement. If he can just state the numbers accurately then the msm will have to acknowledge that he was truthful and that his request makes sense. The Dems will try to point out that his numbers are fiction and that his crisis is made up. The good news is that he will be reading from a teleprompter and not rambling off script!
Nancy already set the bar for their line of attack when she told the DHS head….”I reject your facts”
Of course the Dems want equal air time for a rebuttal. They have to have an immediate opportunity to to lie, obfuscate, deflect and spin before the cogent arguments of the President have a chance to sink in.
This whole kerfuffle has been manufactured by the anti-Trump forces in the government, mostly in the Congress. Trump is asking for a lousy $5,000,000,000 [billion] dollars out of a budget of $4,400,000,000,000 [trillion]. This statistically insignificant. The FY2019 deficit is going to be $985,000,000,000 [billion]. And, this would only allow ~200 miles of the wall to be constructed. Also, unlike this not a recurring cost, as maintenance cost for a barrier would be substantially less than they would be for electronic and mobile surveillance options. The FY2019 deficit is going to be $985 BILLION. There is simply No LOGICAL reason why the Congress should not grant Trump’s request this money. And, the populous is slowly realizing that.
As to there being a security crisis at the border, this is self evident. And, it will only get worse. And ordinary people, even those living in liberal urban enclaves are beginning to realize this.
Watch the Netflix series “Inside the Real Narcos” and then tell me we don’t need an impenetrable border wall and increased patrols. That 3-part series will scare the hell out of you at the stuff that is coming into our country and the crime it perpetuates in Latin America.
I expect the dem response to be something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDmGhethEoQ.
I rather think this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v3etuIw-aM
I project the audience for Pelosi and Schumer will be substantially less than for President Trump.
The Dems want ‘equal’ time? Sure. Eight minute speech followed by the typical eight minutes of MSM news would balance that just about right. The thing is the Dems will blather a chain of total crap for their ‘equal’ time, the MSM will then promptly chime in to declare the Dem poo is polished to a golden gleam and repeat it every thirty minutes until… forever.
So the democrats demand equal time? What a concept. Time for Republicans to demand equal time on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS, MSNBC…
They don’t want to carry him live because it makes it harder to lie about what he said. They also see it as legitimizing his presidency and they have made it their job to get him out of office. Lastly, they are afraid he may be effective in rallying support for his position on the border wall.
They have no motives which are not foul.
I demand that MS-13 be given equal time to respond, too. We have to be fair.
Stunning. So they declare a speech a pack of lies before it is given. Anyone want to fact check how they manage that feat? Time travel?
Trump requested air time…democrats demanded air time.
Who’s the dictator again?
Is there a plan here? A short speech outlining the issue, the need and his proposal. 2 days of dems rejecting his plan. A trip on thu to the border where an emergency is declared because of dem unwillingness to solve issue and a wall is built.
Imagine if the opposition had been granted “equal time” after FDR’s address to Congress asking for a Declaration of War the day after Pearl Harbor.
We have strayed oh so far.