Less than 24 hours after Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprising appearance on Saturday Night Live, former President Donald Trump gave a brief message on NBC following its NASCAR coverage on Sunday.
Trump's appearance came after his campaign complained that Harris' cameo entitled him to equal time on the network. While news programs are exempt from the FCC's equal time provision, entertainment shows are not.
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The same provision was triggered in 2015 when Trump was invited to host Saturday Night Live. While other Republican candidates vying for the GOP nomination were not given an opportunity to appear on Saturday Night Live, they were given time on NBC's affiliates in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Trump's Sunday message on NBC came after Federal Communications Commission member Brendan Carr chided the network for putting Harris on SNL just days before the election.
"The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct - a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election," Carr, a Trump appointee to the FCC, said.
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Trump wore a red "Make America Great Again" hat in front of a backdrop of U.S. flags.
“We’ve got to save our country, and it needs saving. It’s in very bad shape,” Trump said, adding it's the most important election in U.S. history.
