Source: WENN/Avalon / WENN
With President Donald Trump refusing to the suggestions made by the Commission on Presidential Debates to host a virtual debate, the second presidential debate has been canceled. In lieu of the debate, former Vice President Joe Biden and Trump will air a live town hall at the same time on competing networks, with some on Twitter blasting NBC for hosting the upcoming Thursday (Oct. 15) event.
The news of Trump shifting gears to host an outdoor town hall with NBC News came this morning during a Today show broadcast.
“The event is set to take place outdoors and in accordance with the guidelines set forth by health officials, also consistent with all government regulations,” Hoda Kotb said on Today Wednesday morning.
Savannah Guthrie will moderate Trump’s town hall and she’ll sit 12 feet opposite of the former business mogul, who has reportedly been cleared of infection by medical staff although some questioned the validity of the statements. Attendees of the town hall will be required to wear masks for the event.
Shortly after Trump backed out of the virtual debate, Biden’s team scrambled to get their event onto ABC’s network, sparking Trump’s side to do the same. If Trump’s decision to go with a competing town hall is a Hail Mary of sorts, that would play well due to analysts stating he’s behind Trump in several swing states in the polls and trails Biden by as much as 12 points nationally in a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll.
The Pew Center says that Trump still enjoys heavy support among white Christians but that his support is somewhat slipping. Polls are slightly unreliable due to their sample size and the margin of error but it does appear that Trump is fighting for a national platform to jumpstart his campaign.
On Twitter, the reaction to NBC hosting this Thursday’s town hall with President Trump has many ready to jump ship. We’ve got those reactions down below.
President Trump’s town hall airs at 8 p.m. ET on NBC News. Biden’s town hall airs at the same time on ABC News.
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Photo: WENN
1.
WTF?? Can I ever wake up and there's no shit to deal with???🤷🏾♀️
— Daphne L Portis🌊✈🇺🇸 (@MissLynneNYC) October 14, 2020
So...@nbc is still playing games with our democracy I see.
No problem.🖕🏾 Just another company added to the boycott list. 🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️#BoycottNBC pic.twitter.com/0FGV90q4um
2.
So NBC is giving this guy a townhall. Will he be maskless & doing shitty dance moves like he did at his rally the other night as people lay dying & dead from Covid?
— THE FINAL DAYS ⚖️✌🏻🤍 (@peacelovinMimi) October 14, 2020
I’ll pass on this asshole & his free platform for his usual lies. & I’m sure zero pushback
3.
Trump wouldn’t debate Biden virtually so nbc decided trump deserved some air time. NBC has learned nothing, nada, zilch- since 2016.
— my cat & i say police are shit (@non_fele) October 14, 2020
Not only are you giving him a free rally but you’re rewarding him for his asshat behavior.
#BoycottNBC
4.
5.
So @NBC rewards a petulant, crybaby who refuses to the adhere to the rules. I’m seeing a transformation take place here. I’ve got Fox blocked on the TV and I can easily block @NBC. Which, won’t be a major loss. Too many choices out there to settle. https://t.co/Wh75vH5Wev
— RETIRED MASTER CHIEF⚓️ (@CMCRET) October 14, 2020
6.
So NBC is doing an Apprentice reunion show this week?
— Mike Jason (@mikejason73) October 14, 2020
Cool.
7.
I won’t be watching Thursday’s town hall. Don’t really care what an impeached former president has to say. #BoycottNBC
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) October 14, 2020
8.
“What no one in this room wants to admit is Trump helped all of you. He couldn’t sell steaks/vodka/water/college/ties. But he has helped u sell your papers, books & TV. U helped create this monster & now u are profiting off of him”#BoycottNBC? Michelle Wolf tried to tell ya https://t.co/pwSpSgUefi
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) October 14, 2020
9.
This is exactly how Trump won the election, media outlets hungry for audience happily giving a white supremacist a platform despite the impact on society. #BoycottNBC https://t.co/QGZQ5uL9hO
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) October 14, 2020
10.
So NBC is rewarding trump's lack of sense by giving him a town hall at the SAME TIME as Joe Biden's town hall on ABC.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) October 14, 2020
Guess I won't be watching NBC any more, because that is some STUPID scheduling. #BoycottNBC https://t.co/4bk357sr3B
11.
#BoycottNBC is the top trending topic and they earned it. NBC could've scheduled its town hall with Trump LITERALLY any other date/time as the town hall previously scheduled with Biden for Thursday on ABC. But they choose the same time. Then again NBC gave us The Apprentice https://t.co/GICwLniWNW
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) October 14, 2020
12.
NBC do NOT schedule your town hall against Biden's town hall. Do not do it RT @Manyakitty307
— Tomi Ahonen - 76 Hours to Citizen Trump (@tomiahonen) October 14, 2020
I'm not saying @NBCNews shouldn't hold town hall. There's NO reason to run it against the @JoeBiden one. Reschedule it to another day or time. Did you learn NOTHING from 2016 #BoycottNBC
13.
#BoycottNBC is trending because their corporate overlord, #Comcast is good with giving Donald a town hall tomorrow night in Miami at the same time ABC has Biden’s Town Hall. I mean, come on, Trump didn’t want to do a virtual debate. How does he merit this kind of free air?
— Barbara Malmet (@B52Malmet) October 14, 2020
14.
Boycott this disgusting bullshit! Everytime a bigot wants attention @SavannahGuthrie comes running. #BoycottNBC https://t.co/ZGJOBnn5bv
— AmericanBulldog (@Uberficker) October 14, 2020
15.
I will NEVER watch your network or @MSNBC ever again in life!!!!! Sorry @maddow @Lawrence @JoyAnnReid but I’m not going to give a network ratings for putting PROFITS over PEOPLE! #BoycottNBC #BoycottMSNBC
— 🥁RedStateDem__🥁 (@Resist2k18) October 14, 2020