President Donald Trump sharply criticized ABC and NBC during his nationally televised address Thursday night, accusing the networks of deliberately refusing to broadcast his speech because it focused on election security and newly declassified intelligence that he said exposes serious flaws in the nation’s election system.

Speaking from the White House, Trump said the networks chose not to carry his address after learning it would center on recently declassified intelligence concerning election vulnerabilities and alleged foreign interference.

“In a rare move, NBC and ABC Fake News have both said that they would not cover this speech,” Trump said during the address, which was broadcast live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform. “They knew what it was about because of the fact that they don’t like the topic, because they know how corrupt our system is, and they don’t want to reveal it.”

The president expanded his criticism beyond the two broadcast networks, accusing other major media outlets of working to keep information about election-related issues from the American public.

“They and others in the media are part of a plot,” Trump said. “They want to continue this fraud for whatever reason. They want to keep it going. They want to protect the radical left.”

Trump also argued that television networks should face serious penalties for what he described as their failure to honestly report on election integrity issues.

“Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses,” Trump said. “They use our public multibillion-dollar-in-value airways for absolutely no money. They pay nothing. All we want is honesty in our elections and honesty in reporting.”

Neither ABC nor NBC aired the president’s speech live. CNN likewise declined to broadcast the address, instead making a live feed available through its website and streaming platform.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., also condemned the decision by the television networks not to carry the speech on their primary channels.

“Some of the facts that will be revealed in President Trump’s speech tonight are truly shocking,” Schmitt, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, wrote on X. “If the networks were truly serving the public interest they would air it and as a country we would collectively resolve to take action.”

Trump’s address coincided with his announcement that his administration was releasing newly declassified intelligence records that he said document foreign attempts to influence American elections, expose weaknesses in election infrastructure, and reveal alleged misconduct by intelligence officials.

The president maintained that the newly released material demonstrates the urgent need to strengthen election safeguards and renewed his call for Congress to approve the SAVE America Act.

{Matzav.com}