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Both Kinds Of Standards – ABC News
"We cannot possibly put him on the air now—but we CAN tell you what he said…right now."
In a clear sign of wanting to dictate how we are supposed to think on the revelations in President Trump’s national address on Thursday, ABC News announced it would not be airing his comments live. But then, quixotically, the network did cut in that night to cover his address.
So there was Mary Bruce on screen, explaining what President Trump had spoken about, and more importantly, telling us what it all meant.
Apparently, allowing viewers to hear his own words and allowing people to form their own opinion on the matter was not an acceptable option.
So @ABC News refused to run the president’s address, but was just fine broadcasting its own interpretation of his speech immediately after.
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) July 17, 2026
This is basically the equivalent of the Democrat rebuttal after the SOTU. https://t.co/q5ExyvpVt7
Pre-Written Field Reports –CBS NEWS
This predictive information is very helpful.
President Trump gave an address Thursday evening and the networks were rather selective in their coverage. CBS, which did run his primetime speech live, fact-checked the president’s claims about Chinese involvement in our voting systems.
That is to say, they disputed what the president said and what appeared in the classified documents set to be released – before he spoke and ahead of their release. We are not quite sure how they can do this with such confidence, apart from the fact that they assume everything Trump says is “false”.
President Trump announced that his administration is declassifying intelligence that reveals "shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure," including "hacking, exploitation and foreign interference."
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 17, 2026
FACT CHECK RATING: False.
Officials have repeatedly said election… pic.twitter.com/CVmy4wFeMA
News Avoidance Syndrome – CNN
You make this preemptive fact-check sound legit, Brian.
One would think that a news network making declarative judgements on yet-to-be-released documents would be regarded as a bit troubling, according to a wise and learned media analyst.
Instead, we have Brian Stelter looking at CBS News delivering predictive news, and he dubs it “pre-bunking”, and therefore an acceptable act of journalism.
CBS is prebunking the president's address by sharing accurate info about voter rolls and election systems. Seems like a "truth sandwich" approach by @MajorCBS @edokeefe etc pic.twitter.com/2Ri2eo1hch
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 17, 2026
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – CNN
- Don't trust the president and his administration—put your faith in Zach and his anonymous expert!
Some curious analysis was also seen from CNN’s national security correspondent, Zachary Cohen. He disputed claims that China overturned the 2020 election (not something Trump claimed last night), and that the intel he referenced has been known for years. Then… why were they classified and found in burn bags left by the previous office holders?
The documents Trump is referring to right now, and CNN has reviewed all of them, largely discuss vulnerabilities that have been known for years and/or are reflected in the 2021 US intel community assessment.
— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) July 17, 2026
None of the declassified information supports the claim that any…
He goes on to say other things, but the glaring fact that so much of our election security was captured by China, and it is regarded as a nothingburger, seems insane.
Prose & Contradiction – CNN
How can something be considered both harmless and an inherent threat???
Also, while Zach wants to wave this all away as harmless old news, why was Brian Stelter declaring that their network could not run Trump’s address live because it posed so much danger?!?!
CNN has Brian Stelter on to try and downplay the massive media censorship against Trump's big speech last night. Apparently, it would be too "dangerous" for the media to let people listen to Trump's unadulterated speech. The only "danger" here is people thinking freely! pic.twitter.com/vuys8TbnKo
— James Waterman (@jwatermaniv) July 17, 2026
