Television Networks Should Ignore Trump's Big Announcement

Television networks should not repeat the mistake of the 2016 election and give anti-democracy insurrectionist Trump free coverage.

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Donald Trump is trying to project the image that he is presidential with a primetime “big announcement” at 9 PM ET, and he is definitely hoping that television networks take the bait and give him the free media that powered his first run for the presidency in 2016.

Television networks have been here before, and they should not take the bait.

The former president stopped being a ratings draw for the networks in 2018. There is no reason to think that his status has improved, as midterm voter exit polls gave him an approval rating of 37%.

The Media Should Not Reward An Attempted Coup

Because he is facing a potential federal criminal indictment, Trump should not be ignored completely. He remains the nation’s biggest threat to democracy, and ignoring him completely only allows him to work to sabotage our system of governance without accountability.

Ignoring Trump isn’t the answer, but giving him an unchecked platform to spew lies and undermine democracy would make the television networks accessories to Trump’s crimes against America.