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SNL/VP Harris: NBC Gives Trump Campaign NASCAR, NFL "Equal Time"

In response to VP Kamala Harris's SNL appearance, NBC and the Trump campaign confirmed "equal time" was given during NASCAR and NFL coverage.

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Okay, so here's what went down. This weekend, VP Kamala Harris joined Maya Rudolph during the cold open to NBC's Saturday Night Live, and that did not go down well with Donald Trump's campaign – especially with Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner ) and Project 2025 contributor Brendan Carr. Carr claimed VP Harris's appearance was a violation of the FCC's "equal time" rule that requires television and radio stations to offer political candidates equal air time. Shortly after Carr's response, the FCC made it clear that – despite what Carr posted- the commission hadn't yet weighed in officially on the matter (sharing that it had "not made any determination regarding political programming rules, nor have we received a complaint from any interested parties").

SNL
Image: YouTube Screencap; SNL Screencap

Meanwhile, the long-running late-night sketch comedy and music series officially notified the FCC that VP Harris appeared "without charge" for "a total period of 1 minute and 30 seconds on November 2, 2024." Why is that important? Because that meant that other campaigns could request time – and that's apparently what the campaign got. On Sunday, an ad from the Trump campaign featuring the candidate aired during NBC's coverage of the NASCAR 2024 Cup playoff race at Martinsville Speedway and an NFL game in response to the 90 seconds of airtime that VP Harris received. "NBC and Comcast reached out yesterday to give our campaign the opportunity to satisfy the equal time requirement," a Trump campaign official shared. "President Trump filmed the direct-to-camera video after yesterday's PA rally." a representative for NBC said that the network "accommodated the Trump campaign's request for equal time consistent with our regulatory obligations."

Having the very real VP Harris joining Rudolph's "VP Kamala Harris" was an excellent move for both SNL and the Democratic candidate – but also a surprising one. EP Lorne Michaels shared back in October during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter why he didn't see either VP Harris or Trump appearing before election day on November 5th. "You can't bring the actual people who are running on because of election laws and the equal time provisions," Michaels explained, adding, "You can't have the main candidates without having all the candidates, and there are lots of minor candidates that are only on the ballot in, like, three states and that becomes really complicated."

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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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