Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Former President Donald Trump was victorious on Super Tuesday, winning the majority of the states up for grabs among Republican voters.
Opponent Nikki Haley suspended her campaign after the key 2024 election date. With Trump a frontrunner in the election, media outlets are still grappling with how to cover the former president's speeches.
What Happened: Trump gave a victory speech Tuesday after winning a key number of states in the Super Tuesday primary elections.
Among the media outlets that broadcast Trump's speech live was MSNBC, a unit of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA).
As the 2024 election approaches, media outlets may grapple with whether and how to cover Trump’s speeches, in light of previous allegations of misinformation attributed to the former president.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow spoke out after the coverage of the live speech and MSNBC's decision to cut away.
"Okay, I will say that it is a decision that we revisit constantly in terms of the balance between allowing somebody to knowingly lie on your air about things they lied about before, and you can predict they are going to lie about, and so therefore It’s irresponsible to allow them to do that," Maddow said, as reported by Deadline.
Maddow's comments came as Trump stated that the Justice Department is being weaponized to file legal challenges against him, and also took credit for recent highs seen in the stock market under President Joe Biden.
"The balance between knowing that that's irresponsible to broadcast, and also knowing that the de facto, soon-to-be-de facto nominee of the Republican Party – this is not only the man who was likely running to be the Republican candidate for president, but this is the way he is running."
Stephanie Ruhle, who was also part of MSNBC's Super Tuesday coverage, told Maddow the way to overcome the obstacles is to "fact-check the hell" out of Trump.
Maddow said that could be a good remedy, but "does not fix the fact that we broadcast it."
Another MSNBC host chimed in with an idea to give Trump half the screen and have a "real-time fact checking scroll" make up the other half of the screen as he speaks.
"You know he is going to say all of this stuff repeatedly. Just put it there right beside him on the screen while he is saying it," Lawrence O'Donnell said.
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Why It's Important: Several media outlets had to later fact-check Trump's comments for viewers after his Super Tuesday victory speech.
MSNBC aired a portion of the speech before cutting away, which came after the network previously didn't cover his victory speeches for other state primaries and caucuses.
CNN and Fox News carried the entire Super Tuesday victory speech, according to Deadline.
The comments on the stock market have been a key talking point for the 2024 election, with the economy listed as a top priority for voters, especially in swing states.
Benzinga previously shared that during Trump's four years as president, the S&P 500 had average gains of 14.5%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 Index, was up a total of around 67% during the four years under Trump, making it one of the best four-year returns for the S&P 500 in recent history.
While Trump can take credit for the past history, it is Biden who’s in the White House as the S&P 500 and other major stock indexes have been setting new record highs in 2024.
The S&P 500 gained 37.4% during Biden's first year in office, which was the best one-year return under a president since Harry Truman in 1945. The stock market fell in 2022 due to several factors including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since Biden was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2021, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is up around 34%.
Biden recently told those in attendance at a fundraising event that Trump getting re-elected could be harmful to members of the press. The president said several journalists have told him they will have to leave the country if Trump wins due to being threatened with being put in jail by the former president.
Benzinga previously reported on a revenge tour that Trump has promised. The former president promises to take on anyone who criticized him or stood up to him since he left office, including members of the press, whom he calls "the enemy of the people."
Trump’s previous promise to come down “hard” on MSNBC for their past criticism, combined with his recent comments, is likely to further sour the relationship, making any reconciliation between Trump and MSNBC seem increasingly unlikely.
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