Hosts from two major news networks have decided to halt broadcasts of footage of President Donald Trump’s visit to a Miami restaurant, shortly after he became the first former president to be indicted on federal crimes.
In their respective broadcasts, both MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace and CNN’s Jake Tapper noted that footage of Trump greeting his supporters at Versailles, a famous Miami restaurant, was unreportable compared to the news of his impeachment, and prompted the producers to switch to another scene. Shortly before the restaurant shutdown, the twice-indicted former president was arrested and charged with 37 counts related to an investigation into classified documents he kept after his presidency.
At Versailles, Trump was warmly welcomed by a crowd of supporters who sang “Happy Birthday” to him. (Trump turns 78 on Wednesday.)
“I want to explain the image on our screen,” Wallace told viewers Tuesday after MSNBC aired footage of the scene at Versailles. “Trump went to a famous place that all Republican candidates, actually probably Democratic candidates too, go to. It’s Versailles. It’s a little Havana in the Miami area. He’s still a presidential candidate. We don’t need to see that anymore, we know where he is.”
Tapper made a similar statement Tuesday, calling it a “campaign ad.”
“To the people in the control room: I don’t need to see any more of this. He tries to turn it into a spectacle and an election campaign advertisement. That’s enough of that. We’ve already seen it,” Tapper said.
Trump criticized Tapper on his social media page Truth Social after Tapper’s remarks were broadcast.
“Fake Tapper just called for his show to be shut down in Miami because there was way too much enthusiasm for ‘Trump’ on the streets.” The good news is that he was the only one who did, which might be a good explanation for why CNN’s ratings are so low!” Trump wrotewithout mentioning that Wallace made a similar decision.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and willful withholding of national defense information.