NBC News is sticking with its plan to air a live televised town hall with President Trump Thursday night, competing directly against ABC’s event with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, reports The L-A Times.
The news division will have Trump answer questions from “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie and a group of voters in Miami starting at 5 p.m. Pacific despite a backlash on social media, which included harsh comments from some former employees, who believe the move will disenfranchise viewers who want to watch both events. The hashtag #BoycottNBC is trending on Twitter.
Cheryl Gould, a former executive vice president for NBC News, said the network is capitulating to Trump, who refused the Commission on Presidential Debates’ request that his scheduled Oct. 15 meeting with Biden be held virtually as a safety precaution.
Trump was hospitalized on Oct. 2 after contracting COVID-19, three days after his first debate with Biden in Cleveland. The president, who is back to active campaigning, insisted he would only do an in-person event, leading to the debate’s cancellation by the commission. Once Trump backed out, Biden’s campaign agreed to do a town hall event with ABC News.
“I am dismayed — more like disgusted — by NBC’s decision to air Trump’s ‘I won’t play by the rules so let me make my own rules’ town hall opposite Biden’s,” Gould wrote on Facebook. “Is this what the new leadership at NBC thinks is the right thing to do? To be complicit in Trump’s tantrum? A shameless grab for ratings!”
NBC News is not commenting on the reaction, but there was no indication as of Wednesday afternoon that the division is backing down or amenable to changing the time period. A person familiar with the division’s plans but not authorized to comment publicly said the town hall was made available to Trump because NBC had presented an hourlong forum with Biden on Oct. 5, also held in Miami.
NBC offered Trump the same time period that was given to Biden. Scheduling the town hall at 9 or 10 p.m. Eastern would have given Trump access to more viewers, as the number of homes watching television in those hours is higher. The division also will make its event available on its streaming platforms after it airs live on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.
ABC’s event with Biden, which will take place in Philadelphia with chief anchor George Stephanopoulos, is set to run 90 minutes, the same length as its Sept. 15 session with Trump.
No comments:
Post a Comment