The NBC Backlash: How Surprised Should We Be?

NBC and its subsidiary networks have long demonstrated a common worldview with Donald Trump. Why is everyone so surprised?

Yesterday, NBC announced that it had scheduled a town hall with U.S. President Donald Trump to take place tonight, October 15, at 8:00 p.m. The event will be shown nationally across several NBC properties, including the broadcast NBC network, basic cable networks MSNBC and CNBC, and streaming outlets ABC News Live, Hulu, YouTube TV and other streaming platforms, according to The New York Times.

This last-minute event was scheduled to take place live at 8:00 p.m. Eastern — the same time that ABC’s town hall with Joe Biden will take place. The ABC town hall will be shown on the ABC broadcast network and the ABC News streaming service, ABCNews.com, Hulu, YouTube TV and other streaming platforms with ABC News apps. ABC’s Biden town hall was scheduled last week, after Trump refused to participate in a virtual online debate, requested by the Biden campaign to protect the former vice president from exposure to the novel coronavirus, for which Donald Trump was recently treated.