FCC Forces NBC to Give Trump Equal Airtime After Kamala’s SNL Spot — and He Delivers Epic Response

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A small scandal erupted after Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend. I don’t know who even watches SNL anymore, but here’s the sketch Kamala reportedly spent many hours prepping for:

Kamala Harris talks to Kamala Harris pic.twitter.com/AJuW7aO7VM

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 3, 2024

Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reported that Trump’s campaign didn’t originally receive a similar appearance opportunity, which means that SNL violated the FCC’s equal-time rule for political candidates. 

Trump campaign senior advisor tells FOX that SNL did not extend an invitation to President Trump

Also worth noting that SNL’s executive producer said last month he had no plans to invite either candidate, because of this very law:

“You can’t have the main candidates without… https://t.co/C0GsYlAYjG

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 3, 2024

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr addressed the violation directly.

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.… https://t.co/LliZF0po9t

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024

NBC then had to file an Equal Time notice with the Federal Communications Commission late Sunday. 

“Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president in the 2024 national election, appeared without charge on NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ (SNL) for a total period of 1 minute and 30 seconds on November 2, 2024,” the notice read.

Of course, because of the timing, Trump couldn’t make an appearance on SNL. And why would he want to? The show doesn’t like him.

Trump won the moment anyway and received two minutes of free airtime during Sunday night’s primetime sports broadcasts.

In a bid to make amends, NBC allowed the Trump campaign the option to place two ad spots during Sunday’s NASCAR coverage together 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 spot averaging close to $1.7million, while an ad during NASCAR would also come close to the $1million mark.

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

The rules do not require the network to have the candidate appear on a show similar to the one their opponent appeared on, just a similar amount of broadcast time. 

The first advert for Trump came during the NBC broadcast of a NASCAR playoff race.

Just as the race came to an end, Trump appeared in an ad that was markedly different from previous spots and with the look of having been hastily put together. 

The Trump campaign didn’t have much time to prepare something but put together the following ad:

🚨NEW: NBC allowed Donald Trump to air a 90 second advertisement per FCC regulations.

They were mandated to provide time to Trump equal to what Kamala Harris received on SNL due to election laws. The segment aired during tonight’s NASCAR post-race show.

“Get out and vote!” pic.twitter.com/ghRMPvDMMa

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) November 4, 2024