Former President Donald Trump said this week that NBC and CNN should lose "their licenses" to broadcast for not airing the entirety of his victory speech following the Iowa GOP caucuses on Monday.
Trump said later on Tuesday night during a speech in New Hampshire: "NBC and CNN refused to air my victory speech. Think of it — because they are crooked. They're dishonest, and frankly, they should have their licenses or whatever they have: Take it away."
While some media outlets did air the entirety of Trump's speech, CNN did not broadcast the end, which anchor Jake Tapper said contained "anti-immigration rhetoric," and neither did NBC or MSNBC, which MSNBC host Rachel Maddow explained by saying, "There is a reason that we and other news organizations have generally stopped giving an unfiltered live platform to remarks by former President Trump. It is not out of spite. It is not a decision that we relish. It is a decision that we regularly revisit. And honestly, earnestly."
She added, "It is not an easy decision, but there is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things. And that is a fundamental truth of our business and who we are."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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