Donald Trump got screen time during Vikings-Colts SNF game just because of Kamala Harris
After Kamala Harris' surprise cameo on SNF, NBC gave Donald Trump an equal time slot during Vikings-Colts SNF game in wake of the Presidential elections.
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Donald Trump and Kamala Harris (Via Imago/The New York Times)
The U.S. Presidential Election is underway and looks like Republican candidate Donald Trump has made his final address to the public. It happened during NBC’s Sunday NASCAR coverage as the former U.S. President appeared on the Big Screen with a special message for the audience.
Interestingly, this campaign ad appeared a day after NBC gave Democratic candidate Kamala Harris a 1.30-minute slot on Saturday Night Live. Although NBC clarified by filing paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission that Harris appeared without any charger on NBC’s SNL, they were legally bound to provide an equal time slot to another presidential candidate upon request.
Trump sporting his famous “Make America Great Again” baseball cap, arrived on the Big Time by the end of NASCAR’s Xfinity 500 race, with “A special message from Donald J. Trump.” While encouraging the viewers to vote, he also warned them of the “depression” that could engulf America if Harris is elected as the next President.
We’re losing everything, including viability. We’re going to end up in a depression based on what’s been happening. We’ve never seen anything like it, at least in the last 40 years.
Donald Trump said on NBC
?JUST IN: NBC aired a special message from Donald Trump during tonight’s #Colts–#Vikings Sunday Night Football game game.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) November 4, 2024
NBC was legally forced to do so after they gave Kamala Harris airtime during Saturday Night Live.
pic.twitter.com/l4q5T3Rxmi
Besides this, Trump was also given an additional 60 seconds during NBC’s coverage of the NFL’s regular season match between the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts. It broadcasted the same ad campaign aired at the end of NASCAR’s race. Given that NBC hasn’t made any statements regarding airing the political campaign ads, it remains uncertain whether the suggestion for the NASCAR and SNF game came from Trump or NBC itself.
Kamala Harris’ surprise SNL cameo sparked controversy
With a limited time slot of one minute and 30 seconds, the Democratic candidate made a surprise appearance on SNL alongside Maya Rudolph. They appeared as a “cold open” sketch where Rudolph, who was portraying Vice President Harris, was seeking encouragement from the real Harris.
Unfortunately, this created a huge controversy after FCC commissioner Brendan Carr asserted that this sketch was an obvious attempt to bypass the FCC’s Equal Time rule as it aired only two days before the U.S. Presidential elections, which falls under the seven-day window, allowing the campaigns to request equal time.
Due to this FCC rule, if any other campaigns request equal time from NBC, the network will probably need to accommodate them. However, there have been no reports of other campaigns making such requests.
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Pratyusha Srivastava
(2078 Articles Published)