Former President Donald Trump is not pleased with NBC and CNN for not airing his full speech after his win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday. According to the GOP presidential candidate, the news networks should be taken off the air for their decision which he chalked up to corruption.
Speaking to a crowd in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Trump said, “We were talking about her show and how corrupt the press is, and last night it was amazing. NBC and CNN refused to air my victory speech. Think of it — because they are crooked. They’re dishonest, and frankly, they should have their licenses or whatever they have: Take it away.”
Trump did not specifically mention NBC’s sister news outlet MSNBC in his rant, even though the news organization refused to air any of his speech, according to The Hill.
Explaining the news cable’s decision, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow stated that it was out of fear for what Trump might say.
“There is a reason that we and other news organizations have generally stopped giving an unfiltered live platform to remarks by former President Trump. It is not out of spite. It is not a decision that we relish. It is a decision that we regularly revisit, and honestly, earnestly,” he said.
“There is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things. And that is a fundamental truth of our business and who we are,” he added.
Trump has spoken out against MSNBC for its attitude towards him in the past. In September, he accused the news outlet of “treason,” promising to investigate its parent company NBCUniversal, if he becomes the American people’s choice for president in the 2024 election.
According to him, the media company is guilty of “knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage of people, things, and events.”
Addressing Trump’s threats during a table talk program in October, Maddow warned against Trump’s reelection, saying that he wants to “execute us.”
“He wants to put MSNBC on trial for treason so he can execute us,” he stated.
Despite what Maddow said was MSNBC and other news organizations’ reason for not wanting to air Trump’s speeches, the former president’s tone during his victory remarks on Monday night was largely positive and conciliatory.
“I want to thank everybody. This has been some period of time. And most importantly, we want to thank the great people of Iowa. Thank you. We love you all. What a turnout. What a crowd. And I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together. We want to come together, whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat or liberal or conservative,” he said in part.
He went further, saying, “If it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that we’re witnessing, that’s practically never been like this. It’s just so important. And I want to make that a very big part of our message. We’re going to come together. It’s going to happen soon too.”
He also congratulated his political rivals, praising Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for doing “very well” and biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy for doing ‘a hell of a job.”
