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Fox News has now given Trump over $15 million in free advertising by airing his rallies

  • On July 5, President Donald Trump went to Montana for another “Make America Great Again Rally.” Fox News not only teased the rally throughout the day, but aired the president's speech -- during which Trump lashed out at critics, took a swipe at the #MeToo movement, and gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a pass -- in its entirety.

    Fox aired the rally for an hour and 14 minutes, bringing the network’s total airtime given to Trump rallies to 7 hours and 47 minutes since April 28. According to iQ media, a media monitoring service, the advertising value of Trump’s Montana rally was $1,902,542.65. Since April 28, Fox News has gifted Trump $15,174,430.00 in free advertising by airing his rallies.

    Melissa Joskow / Media Matters
    Melissa Joskow / Media Matters

    CNN and MSNBC didn’t air any of Trump’s rally live. On MSNBC, anchor Ari Melber noted the rally would be happening, stating, “Meanwhile, Trump is doing a midterm campaign rally in Montana tonight, and we'll let you know if any actual news is made there.” Steve Kornacki, who hosted Hardball that night, aired a clip from the rally of Trump teasing his Supreme Court announcement, but didn’t air any of the rally live. After the rally, MSNBC discussed Trump’s “wild rally” with a chyron stating: “Trump goes off the rails at Montana rally”