CNN host John King explained the network's decision not to air President Donald Trump's primetime address on Thursday night. During the broadcast of 'Anderson Cooper 360', King stated that the decision was influenced by Trump's history of making misleading statements regarding election integrity. He mentioned, 'We’re going to be watching and listening to what he says tonight, and we will bring you any breaking news ASAP, but we are not going to take the president’s speech live.' King also noted that the White House had indicated Trump would present newly declassified documents, and CNN wanted to ensure adequate time to review and contextualize the information before airing it.
A CNN spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Beast that the network would cover the speech as a news event, monitoring it for developments and providing analysis from experts. The spokesperson added that a live feed of the address would be available on CNN's website and streaming platform.
CNN's decision aligns with similar choices made by ABC News and NBC News, both of which opted to continue their regular programming while providing live feeds of Trump's speech on their streaming services. The content of Trump's speech focused on claims of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden. During the 26-minute speech, he discussed declassified intelligence reports regarding alleged election meddling by China, voter registration fraud in Michigan, and non-citizens on voter rolls. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt remarked earlier that Trump's announcements would be shocking. Trump's claims of election fraud have been widely disputed and contributed to the events of the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021.