Major U.S. Networks Decline Live Coverage of Trump Speech; Fox News Airs Broadcast

Major U.S. broadcasting networks declined to air President Trump's national address live, further escalating tensions between the Trump administration and the media, according to reports by AP and Reuters on July 16 (local time).

According to the reports, ABC, NBC, and the news channel CNN did not provide live television coverage of President Trump's speech, which took place at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 16 (10:00 a.m. KST on July 17).

ABC and NBC maintained their regular programming, including a game show and an animal program, respectively, while broadcasting only partial segments of the speech.

CNN continued its regular program hosted by anchor Kaitlan Collins.

Instead, these networks streamed the speech live through their own streaming platforms or mobile websites, which have relatively lower public accessibility.

CBS, one of the three major terrestrial networks, began its live broadcast a few minutes after the speech had already started.

It is customary in the U.S. broadcasting industry for major networks to simultaneously air presidential prime-time speeches that contain significant policy announcements or messages to the nation.

Pro-Trump networks, including Fox, aired the speech live.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized the importance of the speech in an earlier briefing, stating, "Networks should air it, and the American people should watch it," but her request went unheeded.

President Trump hinted at retaliation.

During the speech, he targeted the networks that were not airing it live, saying, "They use billions of dollars worth of public airwaves for free, yet they do not report honestly," and added, "Their broadcast licenses should be revoked."

Media experts noted that under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, networks have the right to decide for themselves what to broadcast. They analyzed that this situation is intertwined with the ongoing struggle between the current Trump administration and the networks.

Disney, the parent company of ABC, is currently under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding potential violations of broadcast regulations by the daytime talk show The View.

It is reported that the FCC could begin the process of revoking the broadcast licenses of eight ABC stations owned by Disney as early as next month.

The FCC is also investigating the diversity policies of NBC and its parent company, Comcast.

In his speech that day, President Trump claimed that evidence has emerged showing extensive Chinese interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in which he failed to be re-elected, aimed at influencing the election results.

Prior to the speech, some Democratic figures, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, had urged networks not to air the speech live, citing the possibility that President Trump would repeat false claims.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.