Trump insults NBC and claims he's being 'set up' by the town hall he wanted
President Trump has one thing in common with Ava DuVernay, Aaron Sorkin, and Mandy Moore right now — none of them are pleased with NBC's Thursday night programming.
Speaking to supporters on Thursday afternoon, Trump launched into a typical meandering rant accusing media outlets of bias against him, despite the hourslong town hall granted to him by NBC after he refused to participate in a virtual presidential debate. Calling NBC, the home of his former show The Apprentice, "the worst," Trump insulted the network at length, as well as anchor Savannah Guthrie, who will moderate his Thursday night town hall event.
Confusingly, Trump also claimed "I'm being set up tonight" by the apparent haters at NBC. As The New York Times Wajahat Ali noted, Trump is only having the town hall by choice after bailing on the official debate.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, in a prime example of Trump's "saying the quiet part out loud," the president wrapped up his tirade against NBC by remarking, "I figured, what the hell, we get a free hour on television." He promised the rallygoers in Greenville, North Carolina, plenty of "entertainment" if they tune in.
In addition to his comments on the town hall, Trump made some false claims about Dr. Anthony Fauci, asserted the coronavirus is "going to peter out" soon even without a vaccine, and seemingly boasted about ordering the U.S. Marshals to carry out an alleged extrajudicial killing. Just another day on the campaign trail.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
ICE: Now a lawless agency?Feature Polls show Americans do not approve of ICE tactics
-
Dominating the AmericasFeature President Trump has revived the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine to justify his aggressive foreign policy.
-
Trump: A Nobel shakedownFeature The president accepts gold medal he did not earn
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
