Several major television networks are apparently unsure whether or not to air President Trump’s live address to the nation on border security Tuesday due to concern over what he will say.
According to The Hill, CNN and Fox News Channel are planning to air Trump’s address on border security, while the basic cable networks CBS, NBC, and ABC have not committed one way or the other.
MSNBC has not made a public comment one way or the other, and the network has repeatedly opted not to air Trump events before.
Trump plans to address the nation for the first time from the Oval Office Tuesday night on “the humanitarian and national security crisis on our Southern Border.”
The government shutdown over Democrats’ refusal to pass spending for border security is now in its third week.
Many media figures weighed in on social media Monday over the decision.
CNN’s Brian Stelter tweeted that a “TV exec” told him he was torn on what to do about the address.
“TV exec texts: ‘He calls us fake news all the time, but needs access to airwaves… If we give him the time, he’ll deliver a fact-free screed without rebuttal. And if we don’t give him the time, he’ll call every network partisan. So we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t,'” Stelter posted.
Last week, Stelter used his newsletter to promote the idea of not airing presidential events live because of Trump’s “lies.”
Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post, among others, pointed out that when former president Obama gave an address on immigration in 2014, networks did not run it because it was thought of as too political.
Others called for outright censorship, with Vox Media’s Matt Yglesias saying, “Don’t give Trump free airtime to lie about the shutdown with no interruptions, context, or fact-checking.”
CBS confirmed Monday evening that it plans to air Trump’s address, but will reportedly only run the address for eight minutes.
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