After a commissioner claimed Kamala Harris' surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live violated the Federal Communications Commission's "equal time" rules, NBC offered Donald Trump equal time. Brendan Carr, a Republican appointed to the FCC by Donald Trump, posted on X Saturday that Harris' SNL appearance seemed to be a "clear and blatant effort to evade" the rules, which call for broadcasters to provide "comparable time and placement to opposing candidates," the Guardian reports. The FCC itself, however, said in a statement issued through a spokesperson that no complaint had been made regarding equal time rules, and the commission "has not made any determination regarding political programming rules."
Even so, NBC quickly responded to the controversy by filing a notice with the FCC asserting that Trump would be offered equal time, USA Today reports. He ended up addressing viewers after Sunday's NASCAR 2024 Cup playoff race, per CNN journalist Brian Stelter, who says Trump made "a direct-to-camera appeal ... to 'go and vote'" during the post-race show. Interestingly, SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels said two months ago that neither Harris nor Trump would appear on the show during the election cycle, the Hill reports. Meanwhile, the show announced Sunday that the post-election episode on Nov. 9 will be hosted by comedian-actor Bill Burr, with musical guest Mk.gee. Charli XCX will act as host and musical guest the following weekend, the AP reports. (More Election 2024 stories.)
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