Campaign

Trump calls town hall an ‘evening in paradise’

ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump speaks during a Make America Great Again campaign event at Des Moines International Airport in Des Moines, Iowa on October 14, 2020. 

President Trump said Friday that his NBC town hall was an “evening in paradise,” and he insinuated that host Savannah Guthrie had gone “totally crazy.” 

“That was a nice, pleasurable evening as I had somebody going totally crazy last night,” Trump said at a “Protecting America’s Seniors” event Friday. “I understand that worked out very well last night, that’s what the word is. Another evening in paradise I call it.”

Guthrie received both criticism and praise over her handling of the town hall, in which she grilled the president over various issues including his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and refusal to denounce the QAnon conspiracy theory. 

Trump also said that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden “wasn’t looking too good” at his simultaneous town hall on ABC, although he said he did not watch it. 

“I just couldn’t watch, it was too painful,” Trump said. 

The president then complained that George Stephanopoulos had not asked Biden about his son Hunter Biden and Ukrainian gas company Burisma. He then complained about Facebook and Twitter’s decision to restrict sharing of a New York Post story earlier this week about the younger Biden and Burisma. 

“This is the hottest subject there is, they didn’t ask him one question about corruption in the family,” he said. “They didn’t ask him one question about how big tech is protecting him.” 

Trump and Joe Biden held simultaneous town halls on two different networks Thursday after the originally scheduled debate between the two was canceled following the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis. Thus far, Biden’s town hall drew 2 million more viewers, according to early numbers from Nielsen Media Research. 

Biden’s appearance on ABC drew 12.7 million viewers compared to the president’s 10.4 million. Final numbers will be available later Friday, which will include numbers from NBC simulcasts on CNBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.

The next and final presidential debate will take place on Oct. 22. NBC’s Kristen Welker will moderate.

Tags 2020 election Donald Trump Donald Trump Florida Joe Biden Trump town hall

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