MSNBC Didn’t Carry Trump’s Speech Because ‘He’s Repeating His Same Lies’

When Donald Trump began speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort Tuesday night, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow explained to viewers why the network was not carrying the speech live. “As far as we can tell and what we’re prepared for here is that this is basically a campaign speech in which he’s repeating his same lies and allegations against his perceived enemies,” she said.

CNN and Fox News Channel both carried the Trump speech, but on MSNBC Maddow explained her network’s decision not to as a journalistic decision. As a live picture of Trump speaking appeared in a box next to Maddow—though without audio—she said “there’s a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things.” That language—knowingly broadcasting untrue things—of course is at the core of Dominion Votings Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, accusing the network of knowingly airing false statements about Dominion in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

In the nearly 30-minute address, Trump did repeat many of his favorite falsehoods and attacked the judge in the New York criminal case—and the judge’s family. “I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign. And a lot of it,” Trump said.

On MSNBC, Maddow told viewers the network would monitor the speech for any actual news, but otherwise Trump wouldn’t be a free pass to vent unfiltered on MSNBC. “Know that it’s happening,” she told viewers, “and we’re not taking it.” Anyone who was interested in watching Trump, of course, would have had no trouble finding a live feed—either on another cable news network or online.

Carrying Trump campaign speeches will once again test the cable news networks, who came in for criticism for essentially giving Trump free air time anytime he held a rally during his 2016 run for the presidency, at times even carrying live images of a Trump-emblazoned lectern as the networks waited for Trump to speak.

Trump’s criminal case in New York adds another layer of complexity to carrying live speeches from the former president, as Trump on Tuesday night attacked the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, and called for his arrest. Trump’s personal attacks on Bragg via social media have led to threats against Bragg and his family—including a threatening letter that arrived in an envelope with a white powder that was later found to be harmless.