The Trump campaign on Thursday night, Oct. 15, reacted to dueling town halls of President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
President Trump’s event was hosted by NBC’s Savannah Guthrie in Miami and Biden’s was hosted by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in Philadelphia.
“Even though the commission canceled the in-person debate that could have happened, one occurred anyway, and President Trump soundly defeated NBC’s Savannah Guthrie in her role as debate opponent and Joe Biden surrogate. President Trump masterfully handled Guthrie’s attacks and interacted warmly and effectively with the voters in the room,” Trump Campaign Communications Director Tim Murtaugh wrote in a statement.
— Erin Perrine (@ErinMPerrine) October 16, 2020
Guthrie sparked backlash for devoting the town hall to what appeared to be a “debate” and her “hostile” posture toward the president.
“Joe’s stand-in: As expected, Savannah Guthrie is debating, not interviewing, Donald Trump. They wonder why people tune them out,” Fox News’s Laura Ingraham tweeted.
“Trump went from debating Biden to Guthrie! Not sure whether this is good or bad yet … but he’s definitely debating tonight,” CNN commentator Scott Jennings said.
“This NBC thing with Mr. Trump is a complete setup. Ms. Guthrie is hostile,” host Bill O’Reilly wrote. “Meanwhile, it’s a smooch fest between Stephanopolus and Biden on ABC.”
This NBC thing with Mr. Trump is a complete setup. Ms. Guthrie is hostile. Meanwhile, it’s a smooch fest between Stephanopolus and Biden on ABC.
— Bill O’Reilly (@BillOReilly) October 16, 2020
Congratulations to Savannah Guthrie on her appointment as Joe Biden’s White House press secretary!
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 16, 2020
It’s fine if NBC wants to have a Trump vs. Guthrie debate. Just don’t call it a town hall.
— Byron York (@ByronYork) October 16, 2020
Why is Savannah Guthrie debating President Trump? I thought this was a town hall. The media is garbage these days.
— Lisa Boothe (@LisaMarieBoothe) October 16, 2020
Savannah Guthrie posture toward Trump compared to Lester Holt’s toward Biden is night and day.
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) October 16, 2020
President Trump reportedly said of Guthrie, “I expected worse. She tried. God bless her, she tried.”
WH source tells @OANN that after walking offstage at townhall, Trump said to everyone, “I expected worse. She tried, God bless her…she tried.”
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 16, 2020
Meanwhile, over at ABC, the Trump campaign said Biden was lobbed a series of softball questions while Stephanopoulos offered minimal pushback.
“Over on ABC it was a complete different scene, as once again Biden was kept comfortable and away from questions that might challenge him,” Murtaugh said. “Americans can see that President Trump is leading the country, has built the economy to the best in the world once and is doing it again, and quite clearly has accomplished more in 47 months than Biden has in 47 years as a failed Washington politician.”
During his 90-minute ABC town hall, Biden was not asked a single question about the New York Post’s bombshell reports on his son Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings, which included alleged discussions with top Burisma executive and efforts to secure a lucrative relationship with a Chinese energy firm.
#BREAKING: As expected, @ABC News and chief anchor/former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos made sure that there was NOT A SINGLE question about Hunter Biden at this #BidenTownHall.
Another example of censorship and collusion.
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 16, 2020
