In November 2014, President Obama requested that the major television networks give him 10 to 15 minutes of airtime to speak directly to the nation about immigration reform. However, all the networks declined his request. One reason stood out: the networks claimed that President Obama would be too partisan.
It may sound unbelievable, but that was the official stance at the time. Yet, fast forward to Wednesday evening, and all the networks agreed to broadcast a shortened version of a Trump rally speech, presenting it as an official address to the nation—despite there being no real reason for it. Has Trump ever said anything on camera that wasn’t partisan or self-serving?
The Guardian reported on Thursday evening that when President Obama finally took to the airwaves to present his immigration reform plan, many Americans missed it. Instead of seeing the President outline his long-awaited overhaul of a highly debated issue, viewers were treated to regular programming. At 8 p.m., ABC aired an episode of *Grey’s Anatomy*. CBS showed *The Big Bang Theory*, Fox broadcast *Bones*, and NBC featured *The Biggest Loser: Glory Days*.
Popular Information recalled similar instances: networks have repeatedly declined to air prime time speeches from recent Democratic presidents, citing concerns over political bias. For example, in 2022, broadcast networks chose not to air a prime time speech by former President Joe Biden, in which he warned about threats to democracy, judging the speech to be too political. Instead, NBC aired a rerun of *Law & Order* and CBS broadcast an episode of *Young Sheldon*.
Back in 2014, the five major networks also refused to air President Obama’s immigration speech, which laid out a plan to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. The *Washington Post* described the speech as “the most significant presidential intervention to alter the U.S. immigration system in nearly three decades.” But rather than airing the speech, CBS chose *The Big Bang Theory*, and NBC aired *The Biggest Loser: Glory Days*.
Trump, meanwhile, will not get the outcome he hopes for because the public no longer believes his falsehoods about the economy. Unfortunately, the executives running the networks have been compromised—a sad reality that ultimately harms the public.
In another ongoing controversy, after a rocky start to her new role, Bari Weiss plans to hold yet another town hall event—this time with JD Vance. Weiss describes herself as a radical centrist, but it’s clear that she fits perfectly with what Trump wants from Paramount.
Who truly suffers in all this? The American people.
https://crooksandliars.com/2025/12/why-did-tv-networks-refuse-president-obama