Homeland Security Secretary Criticizes ABC and NBC Over Election Security Speech Coverage

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized ABC and NBC for not broadcasting President Donald Trump’s election-security address on their networks. He accused them of withholding information as the midterm elections loomed. Mullin questioned their credibility as news outlets, stating, “How shameful is that? What are they trying to cover up? Why wouldn’t they want to inform the American people?”

ABC and NBC opted to stream Trump’s speech online rather than airing it on television. CNN and CBS also avoided live coverage of the speech, though CBS aired part of it before cutting away. Fox News provided live coverage of the entire address.

Mullin pointed out that the networks had previously amplified claims about the 2020 election’s security while dismissing Trump’s new intelligence. He questioned the basis of their previous coverage, asking, “What facts did they have? Because they didn’t have facts. They were taking someone’s word for it. President Trump gave facts. Today we’re giving facts.”

During his speech, Trump unveiled declassified intelligence outlining vulnerabilities in the voting infrastructure and foreign attempts to access voter data. He urged Congress to enact the SAVE America Act, which mandates federal voter identification and proof-of-citizenship requirements.

Trump accused ABC and NBC of bias, suggesting their avoidance of broadcasting the speech was to obscure corruption. “They want to protect the radical left,” he said. He argued for regulatory consequences, stating, “Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses.” The Federal Communications Commission grants licenses to individual stations, not national networks.

CJ Womack is an associate editor at Fox News, with a background in political science and journalism from Long Beach State University. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter for news updates.