Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin sharply criticized ABC and NBC on Friday after the two broadcast networks declined to carry President Donald Trump’s Thursday night address to the nation focused on election security.
Mullin made the remarks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., where he expanded on issues related to election integrity following Trump’s prime-time speech. During the event, the Homeland Security chief questioned the decision by the two networks not to air the president’s address, arguing that Americans deserved the opportunity to hear it.
Calling the decision “shameful,” Mullin initially asked whether CBS had also declined to carry the speech before learning that the network had aired it.
“Why?” Mullin asked. “What are they trying to cover up? Why wouldn’t they want to inform the American people? Why are they calling themselves a news outlet if they’re not actually trying to put the news out there?”
Mullin maintained that Trump’s address was intended to present information rather than revisit the 2020 presidential election.
“We weren’t giving spin on the election,” Mullin said. “The president wasn’t trying to relitigate what happened in 2020, although we definitely could at this point.”
He argued that Trump presented what he described as facts regarding information his administration says has been uncovered, while also alleging that the Biden administration and elements of the intelligence community withheld information from Congress, the executive branch, and the American people.
“The president’s giving facts, what we have exposed, what the Biden administration covered up,” Mullin said. “What the intelligence community held from the American people, Congress, and the executive branch and we’re putting it out there.”
Mullin questioned why ABC and NBC chose not to air the address, contrasting that decision with previous reporting about election security.
“I think the question really should say why?” Mullin continued. “Because they sure covered the other part of it when they were saying that it was the most secure election ever. What facts did they have? Because they didn’t have facts, they were taking someone’s word for it. President Trump gave facts.”
Despite Mullin’s criticism of the broadcast networks, the article notes that most major cable news outlets also did not carry his Friday remarks live. Those networks included Fox News, MS NOW, and CNN.
Trump’s Thursday night speech also drew extensive fact-checking from several news organizations after it concluded.
Fox News aired the president’s address in its entirety. Following the speech, however, the network’s chief political anchor, Bret Baier, told viewers that Fox News was “not in a position to evaluate the accuracy of the president’s statements and claims.”
The article also notes that Fox & Friends did not devote any time to covering Trump’s speech during its three-hour broadcast the following morning.
Mullin’s comments came as the Trump administration continued to emphasize election security following the president’s nationally televised address, while drawing attention to what the Homeland Security chief described as a lack of coverage from two of the nation’s largest broadcast networks.
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