NBC airs video message from Trump in apparent bid to provide equal time after Harris ‘SNL’ appearance

NBC News aired a short video message from former President Trump on Sunday evening in an effort to provide the leading presidential candidates with equal airtime after Vice President Harris made an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL).  

The network was broadcasting a NASCAR playoff race, but toward the end of its broadcast, Trump looked into the camera and addressed the crowd in a recorded message.

The Hill has reached out to NBC News for more information. The Hollywood Reporter noted Trump said a Harris presidency would cause a “depression,” and he encouraged people to vote.

A source familiar with the matter told the Reporter the appearance was related to providing Trump with equal time. The outlet noted it was not clear if the Trump campaign requested the slot or if it was provided by NBC.

Harris made her debut on “SNL” less than three days before the election in a short sketch for the episode’s cold open with comedian Maya Rudolph, who plays Harris on the show.

The Trump campaign immediately criticized Harris for going on the show, saying she was “cosplaying with her elitist friends” as her campaign “spirals down the drain into obscurity.”

On Sunday, the fallout from the appearance continued. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr posted on the social platform X that her appearance was a “clear and blatant” effort to evade the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule.

The rule allows rival candidates to ask for equal air time if they want it. Carr said it was designed to avoid “this type of biased and partisan conduct.”

Harris appeared on ‘SNL’ for one minute and 30 seconds; under the FCC’s rule, Trump could request about the same airtime from the network.

The FCC regulation does not require a station to provide opposing candidates with identical opportunity, but rather comparable time and placement.

NBC filed a notice with the FCC on Sunday disclosing Harris’s airtime and said she appeared on the show without charge.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for more information and comment.