CNN and MSNBC cut short statements by President Donald Trump Rose Garden on Tuesday after he deviated from an announcement about the situation in Hong Kong to a protracted campaign attack on Joe Biden and his economic and energy proposals.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer explained that the network was cut because it was “deteriorating in a type of campaign speech.”
In his remarks, Trump tried to label his 2020 opponent a debtor on the far left, including the policies of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but he also went from topic to topic. He complained that his vice president, Mike Pence, got little credit for his work in responding to the coronavirus, and then launched an attack on Biden’s son Hunter and his work for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
“Where’s Hunter, by the way?” Trump asked at one point.
The Hatch Act prohibits government workers from participating in political activities in places like the Capitol and the White House, but the president is exempt.
Fox News continued to cover Trump’s comments until their conclusion, and the other cable networks returned when the President answered some questions from journalists.
Earlier in the day, all three major cable networks covered Biden’s speech in Wilmington, DE, and Trump’s comments may have been a response to his rival’s exposure.
Although some reporters noted the political nature of the Rose Garden speech, the Biden campaign did not pose a problem, apparently convinced that its rambling nature would not help Trump.
“Please! We will help pay the taxpayers’ bill,” Andrew Bates, Biden’s rapid response director, tweeted.