Trump Criticizes ABC, NBC and CNN for Limiting Coverage of Election Speech

President Donald Trump criticized ABC, NBC and CNN after the three major U.S. news organizations declined to air his prime-time address on their main television platforms, intensifying his long-running dispute with the American media ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Trump’s speech centered on election security, delivered four months before the crucial midterm vote. During the address, he accused networks that chose not to broadcast it on their primary channels of participating in a "plot" and argued they should lose their broadcast licenses.

ABC News streamed the speech on ABC News Live and aired it on ABC News Radio instead of its flagship broadcast network. NBC News carried the address through its free streaming platform, NBC News NOW, while CNN made the speech available on its website and subscription streaming service, CNN All Access, rather than its main cable channel.

The president used the speech to announce the declassification of intelligence that he claimed showed Chinese interference in U.S. elections. He also repeated allegations about election security, despite previous U.S. intelligence assessments finding no evidence that Beijing altered the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Trump briefly addressed the conflict involving Iran and praised the strength of the U.S. economy before returning to election-related claims.

Before the speech, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt argued the broadcast networks should carry the address live because it could cover multiple major issues, including Iran and the economy.

CBS interrupted its regular programming to air the speech but prefaced the broadcast by noting that many of Trump’s previous election-related claims had been proven false. The network later cut away to provide fact-checking coverage. Fox News broadcast the speech live, with several local Fox affiliates also carrying it.

The dispute comes as major media companies face heightened regulatory scrutiny. Walt Disney-owned ABC is under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) investigation, while FCC Chair Brendan Carr has also launched inquiries into Comcast and NBC. Carr has publicly said Americans should have access to the president’s remarks over broadcast television. Meanwhile, media industry changes, including David Ellison’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and CNN, continue to fuel debate over the future of U.S. news organizations and political coverage.