NBC town hall faces criticism from some political reporters for being a 'Biden infomercial'
Howard Kurtz, 'Media Buzz' host, on the backlash Biden is facing following his town hall.
NBC irked the left this week by announcing a town hall with President Trump Thursday night airing directly opposite an ABC town hall with Joe Biden, as liberals and Trump haters alike voiced their disgust with the Peacock Network.
CNN’s liberal host Don Lemon took a rare shot at the mainstream media when he blasted NBC News' decision.
"Why on earth would NBC agree to do that?" Lemon asked. "You can do equal time on a different night! You can do equal time at a different time! You don't have to do it at the same time and then divide the country further by having them choose!"
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, an outspoken critic of the president, used his monologue to mock NBC over the decision.
“First ‘The Apprentice’ and now this,” Kimmel said. “Why not a new Bill Cosby special while we’re at it?”
The issue was a hot topic on Twitter for much of the day, where some people even called to boycott NBC.
NBC irked the left this week by announcing a town hall with President Trump Thursday night airing directly opposite an ABC town hall with Joe Biden.
Actress-turned liberal activist Debra Messing called NBC’s decision “unconscionable” and called for the boycott of her former employer.
"THIS is UNCONSCIONABLE. #Trump pulled out of the scheduled townhall. #Biden KEPT HIS COMMITMENT & HIS WORD and moved forward. Now @nbc @nbcnews is going to REWARD 45 for breaking his commitment and be an accomplice to his attempt to screw over Biden?! #BoycottNBC #BoycottMSNBC,” Messing wrote.
Far-left actor George Takei wrote, “Don’t watch the Trump Town Hall tomorrow on NBC. Catch the highlights later. Don’t give Trump a ratings win. Pass it on.”
Former NBC News star Katie Couric chimed in, blasting her former employer.
“Having dueling town halls is bad for democracy-voters should be able to watch both and I don’t think many will. This will be good for Trump because people like to watch his unpredictability. This is a bad decision,” Couric wrote
NBC producer-turned-professor Mark Lukawiewicz added, “This is a bad result for American voters, who should not be forced to choose which to watch. So much is still going wrong with how TV journalism copes, or still fails to cope, with @realDonaldTrump.”
The New Yorker's Sue Halpern called the decision "stunning and shameful," while veteran political analyst Jeff Greenfield called it "indefensible."
Some of the backlash even came from within the Peacock Network.
Members of NBC's pandemic-era comedy "Connecting," which normally airs on Thursday night, slammed their network for giving their show the shaft for the president.
"Shame on @NBC," actress Shakina Nayfack began a Twitter thread. "Y’all sign my checks as of late but I‘m disgusted by my home network giving Trump a platform for fear mongering, bigotry & disinformation. Don’t praise yourselves for putting a trans woman on primetime then give a platform to someone who wants to abolish my rights."
She continued, "Honestly shame on @ABC and @NBC, this echo chamber of rhetoric is a root problem in America. These days leading up to the election should be about the exchange and comparison of ideas and policy, not ratings and stoking division. @realDonaldTrump & @JoeBiden should #debate."
"Connecting" executive producers Brendan Gall and Martin Gero both tweeted a statement urging NBC to "reschedule" the town hall. Meanwhile, Journalist Yashar Ali indicated that some on-air talent was mad, too.
"I've heard from over a dozen NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC sources (talent and staff) and the frustration with and anger toward their employer for scheduling a town hall against Biden is palpable," Ali tweeted.
Among the on-air host presumably peeved is MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who asked Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris if she was “as mad as everybody else” during their on-air laugh fest – but Harris declined to bash NBC on its sister station.
“I’m not touching that,” Harris said as she burst out laughing.
Despite the backlash, it doesn’t appear that NBC plans to scrap the event.
An NBC insider told Fox News that the network’s hands were tied when ABC announced the Biden event, as Election Day is only 18 days away and there is another debate next week, leaving available days scarce. NBC wanted the Trump town hall to mirror the Biden event the network hosted last week, and arranged for Trump’s town hall to follow the same format, duration and timeslot.
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NBC News determined the format, date, duration and time slot, according to the NBC insider who maintained the Trump campaign did not dictate any logistics of the event.
NBC’s one-hour Trump town hall begins at 8 p.m., and will also simultaneously be presented on its cable channels, MSNBC and CNBC. ABC’s Biden town hall with moderator George Stephanopoulos also starts at 8 p.m. and is scheduled to fill a two-hour window.
Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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