Major broadcast networks, including ABC and NBC, will not be airing President Donald Trump’s highly anticipated speech addressing his administration’s most pressing issues and his stance on election fraud.
The White House has hinted at a variety of reasons for Thursday’s speech, but sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Trump may use the remarks to disclose whether China had interfered in the 2020 presidential election.
The president said ahead of the speech that he has ‘really, really big news’ to share with the nation.
ABC confirmed in a statement to multiple media outlets that the president’s remarks would be live-streamed on its corresponding streaming channels rather than on the prime-time cable network.
‘We will also cover the speech in our regular network newscasts and, as always, our Special Report team is fully prepared to break into network programming to deliver live updates and reporting should significant developments occur,’ the network said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.
NBC has also opted to air Trump’s remarks on its free streaming service, NBC News Now, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters.
Spokespeople for CBS News and Fox News have not announced whether they will air Trump’s speech on their prime-time channels.
CNN told the Hollywood Reporter that the network planned to cover the president’s speech ‘as a news event, and monitor it for news developments, providing analysis and commentary from CNN experts who cover elections, intelligence and the FBI.’
Trump is prepared to address the nation on Thursday night, but the speech will not be braodcast live on multiple prime-time cable news networks
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday that it was ‘very possible’ Trump would also discuss the war in Iran during his remarks
When asked about the speech at Thursday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt encouraged networks to air the speech live.
She added that it was ‘also very possible’ that Trump would update the nation on the war in Iran and the economy.
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