SNL: Trump-Appointed FCC Commish Cries Foul Over Harris Appearance

Posted in: NBC, Opinion, Peacock, TV, TV | Tagged: saturday night live, snl

SNL: Trump-Appointed FCC Commish Cries Foul Over VP Harris Appearance

Trump-appointed FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is crying foul over VP Kamala Harris's appearance on SNL on Saturday night.

Published Sun, 03 Nov 2024 11:19:08 -0600
by Ray Flook
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Even if you missed it when it first aired, we're sure that you've seen the Cold Open to last night's Saturday Night Live, when Maya Rudolph's "VP Kamala Harris" was joined by the very real VP Kamala Harris. The move was a surprising one, with EP Lorne Michaels sharing back in October during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter why he didn't see either VP Harris or Donald Trump appearing before election day on November 5th. "You can't bring the actual people who are running on because of election laws and the equal time provisions," Michaels explained, adding, "You can't have the main candidates without having all the candidates, and there are lots of minor candidates that are only on the ballot in, like, three states and that becomes really complicated." Now, Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner and Project 2025 contributor Brendan Carr is crying foul, claiming that VP Harris's appearance was in violation of the FCC's "equal time" rule that requires television and radio stations to offer political candidates equal air time.

"This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule. The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election. Unless the broadcaster offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns," Carr began in a series of tweets means to make his case. As of this writing, it isn't clear of SNL reached out to Trump's campaign about making an appearance.

"In the 2016 cycle, President Obama's FCC Chair made clear that the agency would enforce the Equal Time rule when candidate Trump went on SNL. NBC stations publicly filed Equal Opportunity notices to ensure that all other qualifying candidates could obtain Equal Time if they sought it. Stations did the same thing when Clinton appeared on SNL," Carr continued. "Federal law requires that broadcasters provide comparable time and placement to all legally qualified candidates when the Equal Time rule is triggered. With only days before the election, NBC appears to have structured this appearance in a way that evades these requirements. What comparable time and placement can they offer all other qualifying candidates?"

What's interesting in Carr's post notes, "NBC appears to have structured this appearance in a way that evades these requirements." If that's the case, then how could NBC and/or SNL be in violation? Unless Carr is arguing about the "spirit" of the rule – and that's where things could get really complicated.

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