NBC’s olive branch to Trump after Harris’ SNL appearance sparked backlash and claims it breached ‘Equal Time rule’

NBC gave Donald Trump two minutes of free airtime during prime time sporting events on Sunday nights after the Peacock Network was accused of devoting more time to his opponent.

Kamala Harris got 90 seconds of free airtime during a surprise guest appearance on Saturday Night Live on the eve of election week.

But Brendan Carr, the top Republican commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, didn’t see the funny side, labeling the vice president’s actions as a “clear and blatant attempt” to circumvent the Equal Time rule.

‘The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan behavior – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence on one candidate on the eve of an election, unless the broadcaster offers Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns Carr wrote on X.

Carr said the FCC’s “equal time” rule means candidates should be given the same amount of airtime, alleging how NBC “structured this appearance in a way that circumvents these requirements.”

In an effort to make amends, NBC gave the Trump campaign the option of two ad spots during Sunday’s NASCAR coverage, along with a second spot during Sunday Night Football.

Typically, advertising during NBC’s Sunday Night Football is among the most expensive on television, with a 60-second commercial costing an average of nearly $1.7 million, while an ad during NASCAR would also approach $1 million.

Harris appeared on SNL for 90 seconds, meaning NBC ultimately gave Trump an extra 30 seconds of airtime.

The rules do not require the network to have the candidate appear on a program similar to the one on which his opponent appeared, but they do require a similar amount of airtime.

Trump’s first ad came during NBC’s broadcast of a NASCAR playoff race.

Just as the race was coming to a close, Trump appeared in an ad that was markedly different from the previous spots and looked as if it had been hastily put together.

Trump spoke directly to the camera as he stood in front of an American flag while wearing one of his signature red MAGA baseball caps.

“Hello our great sports fans and I hope you are having a fantastic time,” Trump said in the minutes-long speech, specially recorded for Sunday evening.

“We are two days away from the most important election in the history of our country, we need to save our country and it needs to be saved. It is in very poor condition. The worst economic data in generations was just released two days ago,” he began.

“We are losing jobs, we are losing everything, including viability. We will go into depression depending on what happened. We’ve never seen anything like this in at least the last 40 years,” Trump said as the stirring strings played beneath him.

‘We have to get our country on track, we have to close our borders, we have to lower our taxes, we have to get rid of inflation and we are going to do that.

“Remember, Kamala and her friends destroyed it. I’ll fix it. Most important elections in the history of our country. Go vote!’ Trump pleaded.

Later in the evening, Trump was given another 60 seconds of campaign time during post-game coverage on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, during which the same ad played.

SNL creator Lorne Michaels has previously said that the strict rules on candidate timing were one of the reasons why Trump or Harris did not appear on the show this season.

The Federal Communications Commission’s equal-time rule was introduced in 1934 and requires radio and television stations to grant equal time to competing political candidates.

Harris’ appearance on the show, which came as a complete surprise, saw she played herself as a mirror-image double of Maya Rudolph’s version of her in the cold open air of the show.

The first lines the candidate spoke as she sat across from Rudolph, their outfits identical, were completely drowned out by cheers from the audience.

“It’s nice to see you Kamala,” Harris said to Rudolph with a big grin that she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you that you have this.”

At the same time, the two said their supporters must “keep Kamala and carry on,” declaring that they share each other’s “faith in the promise of America” ​​and signing off “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” handed over.

With his appearance on NBC’s sketch comedy show, the Democratic nominee hoped to generate buzz and appeal to a national audience.

Harris had left Charlotte, North Carolina, and was going to Detroit, but once airborne, aides said she would land in New York City.

The performance was only confirmed by Harris’ team about a few hours before the live broadcast began.

The vice president arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, where SNL was filming, shortly after 8 p.m., enough time for a quick rehearsal before the show aired live at 11:30 p.m.

She left immediately after the opening segment, telling reporters, “It was fun!” as she boarded her plane to Michigan.

Politicians have a long history with SNL, including Trump, who hosted the show in 2015, but appearing so close to Election Day is unusual.