Trump seeks ‘equal time’ on air during Biden’s Oval Office address: Report

As President Joe Biden gives an Oval Office address to the nation Wednesday, former President Donald Trump is asking ABC, NBC, and CBS to give him equal airtime. 

In a letter obtained by the New York Times, Trump’s campaign sent a letter to the three networks demanding he be given equal airtime as the campaign believes the speech will be used as a campaign event. Earlier this week, Biden announced he would address the nation from the White House about his exit from the presidential race and how he plans to tackle the remaining months of his presidency.

“It appears that President Biden’s speech will not be a bona fide news event, but rather, a prime-time campaign commercial,” Trump campaign general counsel David Warrington wrote in a letter to the networks, citing the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time” rule.

The letter states Biden will use this moment as a “campaign speech,” to promote his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president, although Biden is no longer a candidate for president.

Until the 1970s, cable networks were bound by FCC “equal time” guidelines in which local stations needed to give both candidates equal access to airtime. Under then-President Gerald Ford in 1975, the FCC created an exemption to the rule for “bona fide news events” like presidential speeches and news conferences. 

“Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people,” Biden wrote on X on Tuesday. 

Wednesday’s address will be his first public remarks since his decision to drop out of the race; it is unclear how much of that will focus on his endorsement of Harris.