FCC regulator claims Kamala Harris’ surprise SNL appearance violated ‘equal time’ rule

4 November 2024 02:14

A senior FCC Commissioner said the Vice President’s appearance on the show violated the ‘equal time’ rule governing political broadcasting.

Brendan Carr, the senior Republican at the Federal Communications Commission, said Kamala Harris’ surprise appearance on the show was “a clear and obvious effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule.”

The rule is designed to ensure that competing candidates receive the same or comparable air time.

Commissioner Carr wrote of X: “The purpose of the rule is precisely to avoid such biased and partisan behavior; A licensed broadcaster uses public broadcasts to exert influence over a candidate on the eve of an election.

“Unless the publisher offers Equal Time to other eligible campaigns.”

On Saturday, the Democratic presidential candidate appeared as a “mirror image” of himself alongside actress Maya Rudolph, who reprized her role impersonating the vice president during the comedy sketch show’s cold opening.

The two give each other a pep talk before deciding to “end the drama-ala” and “keep it calm-ala and go on-a-la.”

According to FCC guidelines, “equality of opportunity generally means the provision of comparable time and placement to competing applicants; does not require a station to provide competing candidates with the same programs as the initiating candidate.”

The Trump campaign claims that it was never contacted or offered by Saturday Night Live or the network that airs the show, NBC.

It is worth noting that a network is not necessary to reach competing candidates and provide them with equal opportunities; Candidates must request time for the show themselves.

SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels has said in the past that neither Harris nor Trump will appear on his show during this election cycle. “Due to election laws and equal time provisions, you cannot bring real persons participating in the race. he told The Hollywood Reporter in September.

“You can’t have the major candidates without having all the candidates, and there are so many minor candidates in three states that are just on the ballot, and it gets really complicated.”

Read more: Kamala Harris makes a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live

Read more: Harris and Trump make closing statements two days before the election

Trump’s campaign had previously criticized Harris’ appearance, saying Harris “has nothing important to offer the American people.”

“That’s why, as his campaign spirals into darkness, he lives out his twisted fantasy by cosplaying with his elitist friends on the Saturday Night Leftists,” spokesman Steven Cheung said.

Trump also appeared on SNL in 2015, ahead of his 2016 election victory.

NBC released a statement claiming they had offered Harris free air time under the equal time rule.

Mr. Carr, who was nominated by both Trump and Biden, claims that NBC did not provide Trump, the Republican candidate, with sufficient time to request air time under the equal time rule.

He said: “Since SNL released classified information only about 50 hours before election day, their decision falls within the seven-day rule component of the Equal Time law.”

He continued: “NBC structured the SNL candidate’s appearance (just hours before the election) in a way that denied all other candidates a week’s worth of procedural rights.”

FCC spokesman Jonathan Uriarte said in a statement that the commission “has not made any decisions regarding political programming rules and we have not received any complaints from interested parties.”