Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a message for the country’s biggest broadcasters. The congresswoman thinks that they should sit this one out. Ahead of a prime-time address President Donald Trump has scheduled for Thursday, July 16, the New York Democrat argued that news networks carry a responsibility to check what they put on air.
AOC urges networks not to air Trump’s speech
The comments came Tuesday after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was stopped outside the Capitol by Pablo Manriquez, a reporter for Migrant Insider and the liberal outlet MeidasTouch, who asked whether U.S. networks should carry the president’s planned election speech.
Trump has said the address will focus on election integrity and voting machines, along with the subjects tied to his long-running, unproven claims about the 2020 elections he lost to Joe Biden.
Ocasio-Cortez said she did not want broadcasters to amplify assertions that lack support. “I don’t think we should be contributing to any platforming of lies about our elections,” the 36-year-old lawmaker said.
She pointed to the practical fact that outlets often see a speech in advance. “Many of these outlets often receive transcripts, and I think we have an ethical obligation not to air things that undermine our election and are not rooted in evidence and fact.”
She leaves a room for context, noting the decision would depend on what Trump actually says. “Of course, it depends on the contents of this speech, but that’s my take on it,” she added.
The White House pushed it back forcefully. In a statement to People, spokesperson Davis Ingle called Ocasio-Cortez “one of the dumbest and most radical members of Congress.” Trump, for his part, has teased the address as major news, telling reporters, “it will concern” election integrity, while declining to detail his claims.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE LATEST EXCHANGE BETWEEN AOC AND DONALD TRUMP OVER THE ELECTION SPEECH?
