Fox News and CNN did not air former President Donald Trump's address at the North Carolina GOP State Convention on Saturday night. MSNBC did broadcast segments of Trump's address, reportedly with correspondent Ali Vitali speaking over the ex-presidents remarks.
As Trump began his speech at the Greenville Convention Center, several social media users noted that Fox News was not broadcasting his first official speech since the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February.
CNN host Brian Stelter tweeted, "Fox News is NOT airing Trump's first speech in months. Fox is sticking with a pre-taped 'Watters World' instead. Newsmax and One America News are showing Trump live, as expected."
Fox News is NOT airing Trump's first speech in months. Fox is sticking with a pre-taped "Watters World" instead. Newsmax and One America News are showing Trump live, as expected. — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 6, 2021
"Fox News thus far hasn't carried any portion of former Pres. Trump's speech live," tweeted Atlantic White House reporter Peter Nicholas.
Fox News thus far hasn't carried any portion of former Pres. Trump's speech live. — Peter Nicholas (@PeterAtlantic) June 6, 2021
Instead of broadcasting Trump's address, CNN dedicated a segment to discussing the potential impact of his first official speech in over three months with former presidential adviser David Gergen—who served under the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton—and Amanda Carpenter, a former senior staffer to Senators Ted Creuz and Jim DeMint.
"As long as he remains stuck on November 2020, everyone else will remain stuck on January 6th. Because those two things are inextricably linked," Carpenter said. "He is entering this speech so diminished as a twice-impeached, losing president under multiple investigations. His aides are talking about reinstating him as president. He can't even be reinstated on social media right now."
Trump spent a large portion of his 90-minute speech bashing President Joe Biden's handling of the border crisis, economy and foreign policy, touting his own administration's alleged successes and repeating his baseless claim that widespread voter fraud caused his 2020 election loss.
It was "the crime of the century" and "by far the most corrupt election in the history of our country," he said. "It was a third-world country election like we've never seen before."
On January 6, pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, seeking to overturn the results of the election as lawmakers met to certify the results. Five people were killed in the incident, including one Capitol police officer.
Since then, Trump has doubled down on spreading conspiracy theories about the election. He told the crowd tonight, "I am not the one trying to undermine American Democracy, I'm the one trying to save it. Please remember that."
The ex-president also vowed that the GOP would force out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by taking over Congress next year. "The survival of America depends upon our ability to elect Republicans at every level, starting with the midterms next year," he said.
Newsweek reached out to Trump representatives and Fox News for comment. This story will be updated with any response.
standard_staples on June 6th, 2021 at 09:09 UTC »
Official? What's official about it? He's a private citizen now. No network owes him any coverage of his verbal diarrhea.
kthulhu666 on June 6th, 2021 at 06:47 UTC »
"We have to defund our freedoms."
Up to his usual standards of oratory prowess I see.
RandomDoctor on June 6th, 2021 at 06:37 UTC »
"As long as he remains stuck on November 2020, everyone else will remain stuck on January 6th. Because those two things are inextricably linked," Carpenter said. "He is entering this speech so diminished as a twice-impeached, losing president under multiple investigations. His aides are talking about reinstating him as president. He can't even be reinstated on social media right now."
That last line was a real burn. Ouch.