Former President Donald Trump aired a minute-long special message on NBC airwaves during the NFL’s coverage of Sunday Night Football, likely reaching far more viewers than Vice President Kamala Harris, who made a last-minute appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, the previous day.
Per the Federal Communications Commission’s Equal Time rule, NBC was not allowed to host Harris in this way while excluding Trump. In fact, as highlighted by The Daily Wire, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr blasted both NBC and Harris for the “clear and blatant” move to evade rules designed to stop networks from tilting the political scales ahead of an election.
NBC has filed a notice with the FCC, disclosing that Kamala Harris appeared on SNL for under two minutes without charge.
Under federal law, if Donald Trump requests equal time, NBC would be required to provide it before the election. pic.twitter.com/aMvHJjpwC2
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 4, 2024
Following the SNL stunt, Trump’s team was allowed time on NBC, per the Equal Time rule. “NBC has told the FCC that VP Harris appeared on Saturday Night Live for one minute and 30 seconds ‘without charge,’ triggering an opportunity for other campaigns to request