CNN host Brianna Keilar and media analyst Bill Carter sneered at the fact that NBC is holding a town hall with President Donald Trump, which directly competes with ABC’s Joe Biden town hall — Carter noting that separating the two candidates does voters a disservice
Keilar first gave viewers a rundown of the debate drama, starting with Trump’s positive coronavirus diagnosis and finishing with his refusal to debate virtually and how it led to competing town halls.
“Bill, you say these dueling town halls are worse than no debate at all. Tell us why?” Keilar asked Carter.
Carter explained that voters should be seeing the two together, instead of being forced to pick one to watch.
“Essentially what they are doing … is they’re disserving the voters,” Carter said. “One of NBC’s defenses: ‘well, it’s the modern age and people can watch both debates if they record them, watch at different times.’ People aren’t going to do that. They’re going to make a choice.”
Carter noted that while Biden supporters will watch the Democratic nominee and Trump supporters will tune into the president’s town hall, Trump is the “television performer” — giving the president an advantage.
“The last debate was him creating all this distraction, and noise, and cacophony. Like a traffic accident, and people love to watch a traffic accident,” Carter
The media analyst also pointed out that NBC will be running the town hall throughout several of their different networks — pandering to Trump and giving him the high ratings that he longs for.
“Is this, in your view, a candidate bailing from a debate and then being rewarded with a primetime audience at the same time that his opponent is on?” Keilar asked.
Carter confirmed that that’s the point he’s trying to get across before sneering at NBC’s excuse to hold a Trump town hall.
“NBC can make the point, they gave Biden a town hall so they can give Trump one. The fact that it’s at the exact same time is the issue,” Carter argued. “Of course they should have Trump on if he wants to do it, but why not do it Friday night, why not do it Saturday night? The argument that they have to do it at the exact same time makes no sense to me. There are other avenues to do it, so you’re obviously disserving the voters by putting them in this position where they have to choose.”
Watch above, via CNN.