
AOC Says News Stations Have ‘Ethical Obligation’ Not To Air Trump’s Speech About Election ‘Lies’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is urging television networks not to broadcast President Donald Trump’s scheduled address Thursday night, arguing that media organizations should not give airtime to claims about election fraud that she says lack factual support.
Trump announced on Truth Social that he plans to deliver a speech at 9 p.m. Thursday but did not reveal what he intends to discuss. According to published reports, the president is expected to revisit his longstanding assertion that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and to argue that Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats from Georgia, are “illegitimate” members of the Senate.
Ossoff and Warnock won Georgia’s two Senate runoff elections on Jan. 5, 2021, one day before the Capitol riot, giving Democrats control of the Senate. Warnock, who initially won a special election to complete the remainder of former Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term following his resignation, secured a full six-year term in 2022. Ossoff is seeking reelection this November.
On Tuesday, MeidasTouch reporter Pablo Manríquez spoke with Ocasio-Cortez outside the U.S. Capitol and asked for her reaction to the president’s upcoming remarks.
“He’s basically doing a made-for-TV broadcast about election fraud and conspiracy theories,” Manríquez said.
“I don’t think we should be contributing to the platforming of lies about our elections,” the congresswoman replied. “Many news outlets oftentimes may receive transcripts [in advance], and I think we have an ethical obligation not to air things that undermine our elections that are not rooted in evidence and in fact.”
AOC on Trump’s Thursday address: I don’t think we should be contributing to the platforming of lies about our elections. Many of these outlets often receive transcripts, and I think we have an ethical obligation not to air things that undermine our elections and are not rooted in… pic.twitter.com/MrHKjt2Waa
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 14, 2026
Following the 2020 election, Trump spent the next two months challenging the results and urging Republican officials in states won by Joe Biden to revisit or overturn their certified outcomes. He repeatedly questioned the integrity of the election, and some political analysts have argued that his continued focus on alleged election irregularities discouraged some Republican voters from participating in Georgia’s Senate runoff elections, helping Democrats capture both seats and take control of the chamber.