The finale of Fox’s ‘The Floor’ was also affected.

Why President Trump interrupted Survivor finale and other prime-time TV tonight

The finale of Fox's 'The Floor' was also affected.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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December 17, 2025 9:40 p.m. ET

President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on Dec. 17. Credit:

Fans of *Survivor *— and any other network shows that air Wednesdays on prime-time TV — tuning in at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT saw President Donald Trump instead of their favorite stars on their screens tonight.

The former host of *The Apprentice* spoke from the White House to point out his administration's achievements and its priorities going into the new year.**

The Republican spent much of his approximately 20 minutes on air insisting that he'd "inherited a mess" from former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and repeatedly blamed the Democratic Party for the country's woes.

He cited his crackdown on immigration, saying that, "in a few short months, we went from worst to best."

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The president also claimed the price of groceries is "falling rapidly," despite what shoppers are seeing in stores.

"One year ago, our country was dead," Trump said. "We were absolutely dead. Our country was ready to fail. Totally fail. Now, we're the hottest country in the world. And that said by every single leader that I've spoken to over the last five months."

He vowed that the prices of homes and prescription drug prices would decrease in 2026 and said he plans to distribute dividends of $1,776 to military service members for the holidays. The amount is to honor the year that the country was founded.

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The remarks came at an inopportune time for TV audiences, as Trump had scheduled to begin speaking at 9 p.m. ET, which fell in the middle of finales for CBS' long-running reality competition *Survivor*, as well as the Rob Lowe-hosted game show *The Floor* on Fox.

Both networks paused their series during Trump's speech.

Meanwhile, ABC and NBC, which also cut to the White House, aired holiday specials* iHeartRadio Jingle Ball *and country music's *Christmas in Nashville*, respectively. Jingle Ball, which this year starred Ed Sheeran, Nelly, Reneé Rapp, Sean Paul, and many more artists, began at the same time as *Survivor*, and was paused as well, per Deadline.

The country music concert, hosted by Trisha Yearwood and featuring appearances by Lauren Alaina, Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers, Trace Adkins, the War and Treaty, and Ne-Yo, debuted earlier this month. Tonight's airing was delayed.

The 'Survivor' finalists were interrupted by President Trump's address.

Robert Voets/CBS

Trump's economic approval rating is 36 percent, his lowest in six years, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. He announced his speech on Tuesday, just short of 11 months since his took office.

"My Fellow Americans: I will be giving an ADDRESS TO THE NATION tomorrow night," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, at 9 P.M. EST. I look forward to "seeing" you then. It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"**

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