Networks continue assassination attempt coverage into Sunday evening

By Michael P. Hill • July 15, 2024

Elections Network Newscast Network Special Reports

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After covering the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, U.S. networks continued offering special coverage of the event and its rippling effects on the political landscape for the rest of the weekend.

Networks offer extended coverage of Trump assassination attempt

The shooting, which took place July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, immediately began filling the airwaves with extended coverage both that evening and into the following morning.

The coverage continued into the evening, with ABC News offering a special titled “Trump Assassination Attempt: Minute by Minute.” It was bundled as part of the network’s coverage of President Joe Biden’s primetime Oval Office address.

ABC and CBS both brought in their weekday anchors, David Muir and Norah O’Donnell, respectively, to anchor the Sunday edition of their broadcasters. Only “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt was missing from the network’s flagship newscast, with Hallie Jackson and Tom Llamas split anchoring from Washington, D.C., and Butler.

‘ABC World News Tonight’

‘CBS Evening News’

‘NBC Nightly News’

“Nightly” was the only newscast to drop its normal headlines graphics in favor of a “Assassination Attempt” logo in the lower left corner of the screen.

All three networks billed their broadcasts as “special editions” and devoted their entire tease headlines to the shooting and effects it might have on politics, including at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

All major networks also took Biden’s address live. The address started at 8:02 p.m. eastern.