Trump Insists NBC and CNN Should Have Their Licenses ‘Pulled’ for Not Airing His Victory Speech
Former President Donald Trump insisted that NBC and CNN grievously erred by not airing his Iowa Caucus victory speech — even though they did, just not in total — and should suffer a heavy penalty as a result.
Trump won the first GOP primary Monday night, and his victory speech included many of the baseless claims that he is a victim of some sort of “deep state” conspiracy that rigged the 2020 election and has kept him in court despite scads of evidence in support of criminal indictments he’s facing.
As a result, both CNN and MSNBC eventually opted out of the live speech after airing it to start. CNN took the Trump speech live for over 10 minutes. Even Fox News dumped the live speech after airing it for a few minutes longer.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow explained why her network was opting out of the Trump speech, saying:
There is a reason that we and other news organizations have generally stopped giving an unfiltered live platform to remarks by former President Trump.
It is not out of spite. It is not a decision that we relish. It is a decision that we regularly revisit. and honestly, earnestly.
It is not an easy decision, but there is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things. And that is a fundamental truth of our business and who we are.
It’s not just a reasonable decision but a responsible one for a journalistic outfit. But if Trump gets elected president in 2024, it could be costly, as he flatly said that CNN and MSNBC’s “licenses” to ostensibly air coverage should be pulled.
“We were talking about her show and how corrupt the press is, and last night it was amazing,” Trump said at a political event in New Hampshire Tuesday night. “NBC and CNN refused to air my victory speech. I think of it because they are crooked. They’re dishonest, and frankly, they should have their licenses or whatever they have. Take it away.”
Trump inadvertently paraded his ignorance here as cable news networks, like all cable networks, are not regulated by the FCC. Of course, coverage or comments found to be libelous can lead to a court trial and even very lucrative settlements, but Trump’s hyperbole here is playing to his audience of supporters who likely think he’s making a serious threat, but he’s not.
Nonetheless, the threat to silence media criticism directly opposes the First Amendment. It also is the polar opposite of the non-intervening and small government ethos that has long been a part of the conservative movement. Trump’s surrogates will almost certainly say their candidate is only joking, but is silencing the media a joking matter?
Watch above via CSPAN.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
