Broadcast Networks All Cut Away From President Trump’s Election Remarks

Authored by forbes.com and submitted by cottagecow
image for Broadcast Networks All Cut Away From President Trump’s Election Remarks

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 05: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the briefing room at the White ... [+] House on November 5, 2020 in Washington, DC. Votes are still being counted two days after the presidential election as incumbent Trump is in a close race against challenger Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, which remains too close to call. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Getty Images

President Donald Trump went before the cameras at the White House on Thursday evening to talk about the vote counting still underway in a handful of swing states, making repeated and unsubstantiated claims that voter fraud was threatening to “steal” away his re-election. The broadcast news networks—ABC, CBS VIAC and NBC—all made the same decision: to cut away from the president.

ABC’s World News Tonight anchor David Muir told viewers “[President Trump] knew exactly what he was doing, this large audience across the broadcast networks, in coming on in the middle of our newscasts tonight. We knew when we heard that—if you count legal votes, I easily win, if you count illegal votes, they could try to steal the election—that it was time to pull out of that and fact-check it in real time.”

For viewers, and for students of both politics and the news media, it was an extraordinary moment: first that a president would stand at the lectern in the White House and claim without any evidence that an American presidential election was being stolen, and then for the networks to decide it was a smarter decision to stop airing what the president of the United States had to say.

The broadcast and cable networks used banners to try to fact-check the president as he spoke. One banner on CNN said, “Without any evidence, Trump says he’s being cheated.”

But as the president’s appearance continued, most networks clearly felt that on-screen graphics weren’t enough and that continuing to air the president’s baseless allegations of a fraud in a fair election would be journalistic malpractice.

On cable news, MSNBC’s Brian Williams told viewers, “Here we are again in the unusual position not just of interrupting the president of the United States, but correcting the president of the United States.” On Fox News Channel, Bret Baier told viewers “we have not seen hard evidence” of the voter fraud the president was insisting was widespread.

Afsharon on November 6th, 2020 at 05:14 UTC »

https://youtu.be/KIT9MD8ynQU

Found an example of a cut away (I think), if anyone else is curious.

Pokoparis on November 6th, 2020 at 05:04 UTC »

GEORGIA VOTERS

If you voted absentee check the status of your ballot NOW!

If it was REJECTED...you have until 5pm on FRIDAY 11/6 to fix it.

https://georgia.ballottrax.net/voter/

..

NEVADA VOTERS

If you voted absentee check the status of your ballot NOW!

If it was REJECTED...you have until THURSDAY 11/12 to fix it.

https://nevada.ballottrax.net/voter/

..

ARIZONA VOTERS!

If you voted absentee check the status of your ballot NOW!

If it was REJECTED...you have until TUESDAY 11/10 to fix it.

https://my.arizona.vote/AbsenteeTracker.aspx

..

NORTH CAROLINA VOTERS

https://northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter/

..

PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS

https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/pages/ballottracking.aspx

GratefulDawg73 on November 6th, 2020 at 01:41 UTC »

A low moment for the institution of the Presidency.