ABC News, NBC News and CNN will carry the president’s remarks on separate streaming platforms or editorial live updates.
Trump has teased “big news” ahead of this speech, in which he is expected to address his previous unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden.
A spokesperson for CNN said that the network will monitor Trump’s remarks as a “news event,” coupled with analysis and commentary from experts in elections, intelligence and the FBI.
“A live feed of the speech, alongside analysis and expert commentary, will be available on CNN-dot-com and available on CNN’s All Access streaming platform,” the spokesperson noted.
White House officials and Republican lawmakers were quick to criticize the networks’ decision.
“Cowards. NBC and ABC don’t want you to hear the truth. All they want to do is hide the facts from YOU,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung wrote in a social media post ahead of Trump’s speech.
“Tune in @WhiteHouse at 9:00pm EDT, where we always get bigger ratings than any of the networks,” he continued.