Networks Divided on How Much of Trump’s Speech to Carry

By Mark Joyella 

Only CNN went “all in,” wall-to-wall. The network was the only one to take Donald Trump‘s entire speech to a rally in Dubuque, Iowa. CNN took the speech at 7:37 p.m. ET, with Jim Sciutto saying “let’s have a listen to Donald Trump.”

Nearly an hour later, the speech ended and CNN started an abbreviated AC360. “Hello everyone, I’m John Berman,” he said.

On Fox News, Greta Van Susteren said “here he is, let’s listen” as the network took Trump’s remarks live at 7:37 p.m. FNC’s On the Record went to a commercial break at 7:43 p.m., and returned to the speech at 7:48 p.m. Two minutes later, Fox again took a break, returning to the Trump speech at 7:54 p.m. At 7:56 p.m., Van Susteren said “and that is Donald Trump in Iowa,” and FNC moved on to The O’Reilly Factor, which did not air the speech.

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MSNBC, like the other networks, took Trump’s speech live as it started at 7:37 p.m. ET. The network stuck with the speech uninterrupted until 8:05, when Chris Hayes said “that is Donald Trump in Iowa.” MSNBC then discussed the day in Trump with the live event in Iowa occasionally running in a box.

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