Smerconish Smacks Down Networks — like CNN — for Failing to Air Trump Speech: ‘I Trust My Audience’

CNN’s Michael Smerconish claims the nation’s major television networks engaged in “condescension” when they refused to air President Donald Trump’s election fraud speech live.

Several networks, including ABC, NBC and CNN, refused to carry Trump’s Thursday address to the nation on election fraud live on their channels, while others, including CBS and Fox, included heavy disclaimers.

Trump pushed claims of election interference from foreign powers and insisted his administration found “burn bags” from President Barack Obama’s time.

Smerconish said if the president had made his speech during the host’s radio show, he would have aired it:

Thursday night, President Trump asked for the nation’s attention for a prime time address, a speech that many outlets declined to carry live.

Here’s what I would have done if, instead of speaking Thursday at 9 P.M. Eastern, the president had spoken at 9 a.m., a time when my radio program airs nationwide, the decision would have been mine as to whether to interrupt my normal programing and carry the speech live on Sirius POTUS channel.

This actually happens with some regularity. In fact, it’s often the bane of my existence because the president, all presidents are rarely on time.

But my standard practice is to take the remarks live. And I think it’s an easy call. Had I taken this speech primarily on alleged election interference, I would not have been endorsing the content.

And it would have been incumbent on me to offer fair comment and criticism when it ended. But if I hadn’t taken the feed and merely monitored what he said, only to then offer a critique, I don’t think that would be fair to the office of the presidency.

I think consistency matters. If it’s newsworthy enough to rebut, it’s newsworthy enough to air it first. Rebuttal alone treats the audience as lacking any filter. And I trust my audience to know better.

After a decade of hearing from this president, I have more faith in the American people to make up their own minds. Now, some are going to say, well, that’s the problem, that if only the country had been shielded from his mistruths, he’d never have been elected.

But that theory has been tested for a decade. In the most fact checked media environment in history. And the voters, they’ve heard it all the words and the rebuttals and the fact checking.

And they elected him twice, denying him 22 minutes in year ten? It’s not prevention. It’s condescension.

Of course. Unlike the television outlets, I’ve got an added advantage when it’s over. And after I’ve had my say, I then get to open 12 telephone lines and let anybody who can get through say whatever they want without any fear of derision by me.

Watch above via CNN.

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