On Thursday night, July 16th 2026, the largest US television networks split on whether to air a White House address by Donald Trump, which contained unproven accusations regarding the integrity of the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.

CBS, Fox News, and MS Now (formerly MSNBC) broadcast at least large portions of the speech live. In contrast, CNN, ABC, and NBC chose not to air the speech live. ABC did not mandate the speech as a must-run broadcast, but some affiliates, including the Washington DC station owned by the right-leaning Sinclair broadcaster, aired it.

NBC continued with its scheduled nature documentary, "The Americas," instead of airing the speech as a special report, while CBS aired the sitcom "Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage" prior to the speech.

MS Now aired about half of the speech despite warnings from Jen Psaki, the network’s 9pm host and former Biden White House press secretary, who cautioned viewers that the address would not be a traditional White House speech. She stated, “When you’re in the White House, these are selective moments a president typically takes to speak to the American public. We are not in normal times, as you all know.”

The network displayed an on-air graphic casting doubt on Trump’s remarks: “Trump Gives Address On Elections After Years of False Claims.” Kaitlan Collins, MS Now’s 9pm anchor, said her team would monitor the speech but would not air it live, citing the president’s “well-documented history of saying blatantly false things about elections.”

Sean Hannity of Fox News described it as “pretty unheard of” for networks to not air primetime presidential addresses but acknowledged a history of networks opting out of politically viewed speeches.

The speech focused on the safety and security of American elections, a topic Trump has frequently discussed, though much of what he has said on this subject has been deemed false by some commentators.

Sources