CBS News reversed plans at the last minute to not air former President Donald Trump's primetime address regarding election fraud allegations, according to reports. The network had initially informed Democratic aides that it did not intend to broadcast Trump's speech live on national television.
Sources indicated that the initial plan was for anchor Tony Dokoupil to direct viewers to the network's streaming platform rather than the linear channel during his Evening News signoff around 7 p.m. An abrupt change of plans led to a CBS announcement at 8 p.m., just an hour before the speech, stating otherwise.
Network sources reportedly knew the address would contain falsehoods about the 2020 election following an off-the-record White House briefing. During the broadcast, Dokoupil cautioned viewers, stating that "much of what the President had said on this topic has been false," and "Most notably, of course, the claim that he won the 2020 election, when of course he did not."
Following the 17-minute speech, CBS News conducted fact-checking, airing the address for 15 minutes before cutting away. In contrast, NBC and ABC had previously announced their intention to air the speech online only, a decision that prompted threats from Trump to revoke their broadcast licenses.
Some CBS News staffers expressed surprise at the final decision to air the speech, as they were under the impression it would only be streamed. This shift in coverage strategy reportedly caught "a lot of people" off-guard.
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner criticized the decision on-air, telling Dokoupil that any "responsible journalists" should "push back on these falsehoods." Dokoupil responded that the topic was "vitally, vitally important" and acknowledged Trump's "terrible track record" on it.
The remainder of the CBS hour aimed to provide expert context, with several experts disputing Trump's claims. Trump reiterated his belief that the 2020 voting machines were rigged against him. Correspondingly, Fox News correspondent Aishah Hasnie stated during their airing of the speech that "Fox News has not seen that evidence yet and is not in a position to evaluate the accuracy of the President’s statement and claims at this time." Anchor Bret Baier made a similar statement regarding the lack of seen documentation.
MS NOW also aired the speech before cutting away at the 15-minute mark, similar to CBS. The handling of this coverage has drawn scrutiny amid recent changes at CBS News since Paramount CEO David Ellison appointed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief in October, with some sources suggesting her changes have impacted the CBS brand.