Poynter is reporting that major television networks faced challenges in covering President Donald Trump's recent speech on election integrity. The New York Times' Maggie Haberman described Trump's 22-minute address as containing "outlandish claims" about American voting systems, falsely asserting elections were "rigged" and "stolen." Trump also accused China of attempting to influence the 2020 election, though documents posted by the White House were more guarded in their conclusions. CNN's John King expressed skepticism about the president's claims regarding elections, and MS NOW's Chris Hayes suggested Trump would rather cheat than win.
NBC and ABC chose not to air the speech live on their main networks, instead broadcasting it on their streaming news channels, NBC News NOW and ABC News Live. Both networks broke into regular programming after the speech for recaps and discussions. Trump criticized NBC and ABC for not carrying the address live, suggesting their licenses should be revoked. CBS attempted a middle ground, breaking into regular programming with a special report but initially not airing the speech in real time. "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil noted that much of what Trump had said on the topic was false. CBS eventually went live to Trump for several minutes before cutting away for discussion and fact-checking. Fox and Fox News aired the speech in full, though Fox News White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie acknowledged a lack of evidence for Trump's claims about electronic voting machines. CNN monitored the speech and reported on it afterward, with its panel discussing Trump's remarks while he spoke. MS NOW aired the speech live for about 15 minutes before pulling out, with anchor Jen Psaki and panelists immediately fact-checking Trump's claims.
Poynter also reported on an investigation into Gabriel Perez, a White House teleprompter operator, for allegedly using insider information to place bets on what President Trump would say in speeches. ABC News reported that Kalshi, a prediction markets platform, alerted the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to suspicious activity. NPR's Bobby Allyn wrote that this marks the first time someone inside the White House has been investigated for allegedly abusing access for prediction market profits. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump was aware of the investigation and found it "deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace." Leavitt recently returned from maternity leave, giving her first full briefing in nearly two months.
Separately, Poynter highlighted a security incident at NBC's "Today" show studio. TMZ reported that an intruder entered an unauthorized area and confronted co-host Craig Melvin, allegedly yelling racial slurs. NBC News confirmed the incident, stating the individual was detained by law enforcement without further altercation or injury, and that the network is reviewing its security protocols.