AOC Says News Stations Have ‘Ethical Obligation’ Not To Air Trump’s Speech About Election ‘Lies’

MeidasTouch

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said it is incumbent upon television news stations not to air a speech by President Donald Trump set for Thursday.

On Monday, Trump announced in vague fashion on Truth Social that he will deliver an address at 9 p.m. on Thursday, and did not elaborate as to its contents. Reporting indicates that the president will rehash his false claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him, and will also accuse Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) of being “illegitimate” senators. The two lawmakers won runoff elections on Jan. 5, 2021, one day before the Capitol riot, giving control of the Senate to the Democrats. Warnock, who was elected in 2021 to finish the term of the resigned Sen. Johnny Isakson (R), subsequently won reelection in 2022. Ossoff is up for reelection this November.

On Tuesday, Pablo Manríquez of MeidasTouch caught up with Ocasio-Cortez outside the Capitol, where he asked her about the president’s upcoming address.

“He’s basically doing a made-for-TV broadcast about election fraud and conspiracy theories,” he said.

“I don’t think we should be contributing to the platforming of lies about our elections,” the congresswoman replied. “Many news outlets oftentimes may receive transcripts [in advance], and I think we have an ethical obligation not to air things that undermine our elections that are not rooted in evidence and in fact.”

After the 2020 election, Trump spent the ensuing two months pressuring Republican officials in states he lost to try to overturn the results in those states. The president cast doubt on the integrity of the country’s elections, and some have said he depressed Republican turnout in the subsequent Georgia runoffs, thereby handing two Senate seats – and the upper chamber – to Democrats.

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