Trump Demands Equal Airtime in Light of Biden’s Planned Address

The New York Times | Yahoo ^ | July 24, 2024 | By Michael Gold and Jim Rutenberg

[Oldeconomybuyer]

As President Joe Biden planned a prime-time address from the Oval Office on Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump and his campaign sent a letter to ABC, NBC and CBS on Tuesday demanding that Trump be given equal airtime.

Biden is expected to address his decision to end his reelection campaign and outline his plans for the rest of his time in office. In a social media post, he wrote that he would discuss “what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people.”

But in the letter, which was obtained by The New York Times, the Trump campaign’s general counsel, David Warrington, asserted in advance of Biden’s speech that it would most likely address Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.

Based on that assumption, Warrington wrote, “it appears that President Biden’s speech will not be a bona fide news event, but rather, a prime-time campaign commercial.” Citing the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time” rule, Warrington insisted that Trump be given similar time on air, arguing that Biden’s address was a “campaign speech,” even as Biden is no longer technically a candidate for the presidency.

The Trump campaign also filed a complaint on Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission accusing Biden and Harris of violating campaign finance laws by rolling Biden’s campaign funds over to Harris. The complaint, filed by Warrington, came after Biden’s team had amended the name of its campaign committee Sunday to Harris for President.

[Night Hides Not]

Lol!

[roadcat]

Won’t it be great if he says he intends to remain the nominee?

Hope he goes off-script. He's been known to mangle the teleprompter words.

"Hey Jill, what's this crap about Kamala being my successor, I'm the one running here!".