NBC appeared to scramble to make equal time for former President Donald Trump following Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance on “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”).
A video message was aired by the network during a NASCAR race Sunday night featuring Trump looking straight into the camera to address the viewers, The Hill reported.
Trump was given the airtime after Harris was on “SNL” in an apparent breach of the Federal Communications Commission’s Equal Time rule, which affords rival candidates get equal airtime if they want it.
According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, Trump said a Harris win would cause a “depression” as he urged viewers to “go and vote.”
It was not clear as of Monday morning if the Trump campaign asked for the spot or if NBC provided the spot to Trump in the interest of fairness.
The same ad also ran during NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”
Trump was given 120 seconds of airtime, while Harris was on “SNL” for one minute and 30 seconds.
Harris’ appearance was in the opening skit when she was with comedian Maya Rudolph, who impersonates Harris on the show, per the IJR.
Harris’ time on the show was criticized by the Trump campaign, who said the Democratic presidential nominee was “cosplaying with her elitist friends” while her campaign “spirals down the drain into obscurity,” as The Hill reported.
On Sunday, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, pointed out that Harris’ stint on “SNL” was a “clear and blatant” attempt to circumvent the FCC’s Equal Time rule, which Carr said was created to avoid “this type of biased and partisan conduct.”
The FCC rule only states a network provide the candidates with equal time and placement, but not the identical opportunity.
NBC notified the FCC in a filing that Harris was on “SNL” for one minute and 30 seconds and did so “without charge.”
