FCC Commissioner Says Kamala Harris’ SNL Appearance Violated ‘Equal Time’ Rule
Trump appointee Brendan Carr accused the NBC show of “using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election.”
Jeenah Moon/Getty Images
A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner appointed by former President Donald Trump claimed Vice President Kamala Harris‘ cameo on NBC’s Saturday Night Live violated the federal “equal time” rule that requires broadcasters to give political candidates the same chance to appear on air. “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,” tweeted Brendan Carr, after news of Harris’ appearance on the show broke on Saturday. A spokesperson for the FCC said Carr‘s comments don’t represent the agency’s views, adding it has “not made any determination regarding political programming rules, nor have we received a complaint from any interested parties.” Carr noted that former FCC chair and Barack Obama appointee Tom Wheeler pledged to enforce the rule in 2015 when Trump and Hillary Clinton appeared on the show. SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels said in September that there were no plans to host Harris or Trump, citing the “equal time” rule. Harris ultimately was welcomed on, appearing in a sketch where she and a fictional version of herself, played by comedian Maya Rudolph, gave each other a pre-election pep talk. The Trump campaign‘s most notable attempt at comedy will likely end up being the disastrous, racist set by comic Tony Hinchcliffe at the Republican nominee’s MAGA rally in New York City last weekend.
This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
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
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