Live town hall: Trump, Biden kick off dueling events talking about COVID
John Fritze , Courtney Subramanian , Michael Collins , Bart Jansen , Joey Garrison , Ledyard King , Maureen Groppe | USA TODAY
President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will host their own town hall even tonight. Following here for updated coverage. Refresh this article for updated coverage.
On one network, President Trump was being questioned about how much he was tested for COVID in the time he eventually tested positive. On another network, Biden was offering his opinion on how Trump responded to the pandemic.
The town halls got underway Thursday night with each candidate making their case on how to respond to the pandemic Trump said he, as president, can't hide from people. Biden said Trump lied about the dangers of the virus.
Trump, Biden town halls underway
President Donald Trump's town hall on NBC is underway.
"This is not how things were supposed to go tonight," TODAY host Savannah Guthrie started off her remarks.
Trump's first question: Any lingering symptoms from his bout with COVID-19?
"Nothing whatsoever," Trump said.
— John Fritze
Biden town hall to last 30 minutes longer than Trump's
President Donald Trump boasted today at a campaign rally in North Carolina that he agreed to tonight’s town hall because it amounted to a “free hour on television."
But that’s 30 minutes less of free television than his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden will get.
Trump’s town hall on ABC from Miami and Biden’s town hall on NBC from Philadelphia begins at the same time, 8 p.m. EDT. But the Trump town hall is slated to end after 60 minutes, while the Biden town hall goes for 90 minutes.
That should be enough time for Trump to find a television to check in on the Democratic nominee if he chooses.
— Joey Garrison
Town halls a warm-up for next debate
Consider Thursday’s dueling town halls a warm-up -- not just for viewers but also the candidates.
President Donald Trump has taken only one on-the-record question from a non-conservative personality since receiving his COVID-19 diagnosis on Oct. 2 – a question about tariffs. Biden hasn’t held a formal press conference since early September, though he often takes questions on the trail.
The last time either Trump or Biden took a series of probing questions in a highly viewed setting was at their last debate, on Sept. 29. Since then Trump fell ill and recovered from coronavirus, his Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett has worked through her confirmation hearings, an apparent new surge of virus cases has started plaguing several states and talks with Capitol Hill over an economic stimulus have appeared promising and then died too many times to count.
Not only does that add weight to Thursday’s town halls, it also means both candidates will be able to road test messages new and old before the main event: Next week’s final presidential debate in Nashville.
— John Fritze
Trump and Biden offer up their own event tonight
Their face-to-face debate canceled, President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will instead hold dueling town halls Thursday on competing television networks.
NBC announced Wednesday it will host a Trump town hall at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday – the same time at which ABC will be hosting a similar event with Biden in Philadelphia.
The Trump event will be in Miami, which was supposed to be the site of a second debate between the two candidates. That showdown was canceled after Trump refused to participate once it was moved to a virtual format because of his COVID-19 diagnosis.
Election updates: Trump deemed 'safe' to return to public engagements, won't say if he's tested negative
Trump works the refs ahead of town hall
President Donald Trump began ripping into the NBC town hall he will take part in Thursday hours before he arrived to field his first question.
“I’m being set up tonight,” Trump told supporters at a rally in North Carolina.
Trump and Democrat Joe Biden will participate in dueling network town halls Thursday, with the former vice president appearing on ABC. Both kick-off at 8 p.m. EDT. The appearances are happening in lieu of a scheduled debate that was canceled after Trump balked at switching to a virtual format.
After slamming NBC and its parent company as “the worst,” Trump went after the event’s moderator, "TODAY" anchor Savannah Guthrie.
“She’s always lovely, isn’t she?” Trump said.
In airing his grievances, Trump was hitting on a theme he has frequently sounded on the trail: That he gets tougher questions from reporters than Biden. Never raised in his analysis is the notion that he faces additional scrutiny because he is the president.
Trump described the event as a setup to his supporters but then offered a clue about why he would agree to appear. Down in battleground state polling and fundraising, Trump signaled that the NBC event may be more valuable for his campaign than not.
“We get a free hour on television,” he said.
— John Fritze
Trump applauds ‘flawless’ Barrett
Trump praised Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s performance at her confirmation hearing this week, telling supporters in North Carolina on Thursday that she was “flawless.
During an airport campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina, Trump lauded Barrett as “a great intellect” and boasted that she was “toying” with Democrats who grilled her during her hearing.
Trump’s rally in North Carolina – a key battleground in the Nov. 3 election – is his first stop on a two-day campaign swing that also will take him to Ocala, Florida, and Macon, Georgia.
It was also Trump’s fourth rally in as many days as he tries to close the gap with Biden. Biden has consistently maintained an edge over Trump in national polls and in some key battleground states, including North Carolina.
Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 3 percentage points in North Carolina in 2016, but polls show a close race in the state this year. Biden holds a 3.3 percentage point lead over Trump in the Tar Heel State in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.
– Michael Collins
Via PakapNews