NBC’s Savannah Guthrie was wildly praised as she posed as the moderator for President Donald Trump’s Town Hall event recently.
Debate moderators in national political debates are put in the spotlight as much as the candidates themselves. The success of the debates also varies as to how the moderator handles participants. That said, Savannah Guthrie did a great job keep the President in check during the town hall event—as the public observed.
As many could remember, President Trump received quite the criticisms for his constant interruption during the first Presidential Debate. In fact, at the onset, moderator Chris Wallace couldn’t even finish his first question without being interrupted by the POTUS.
Wallace was also slammed for how he handled the “chaos” that was the 2020 Presidential Debate. He admitted that Trump was “primarily responsible” for the general disarray.
How Savannah Guthrie threw all the right questions
As The Guardian reports Guthrie “repeatedly got the better of Trump.” She asked most, if not all, of the prominent issues surrounding the President. She kicked off with his COVID-19 status, wherein Trump struggles to provide a straight answer about his test result on the day of the first debate.
Per CNBC, Trump “fielded an intense line of questioning at a town hall event.” Aside from the coronavirus, Guthrie questioned the president about his tax return controversy, his “retweeting” manner on social media, and of denouncing another “controversial pro-Trump” conspiracy theory, QAnon.
Guthrie picked up her next questions right from the words of Trump after he just said them. When pressed about denouncing White Supremacy, Trump said, “Oh, you always do this. You always do this.”
“Are you listening? I denounce White supremacy. What’s your next question?” the POTUS exasperatedly answered.
https://youtu.be/Y5yUnUxpr_g
Constant fact-checking
The Guardian highlights that “Trump was at times clearly uncomfortable.” Most of the time, Savannah Guthrie fact-checked his statements.
It started with Trump’s 85% statistics, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Per the president, he mentioned that “85% of people who wear a mask catch [coronavirus].”
Guthrie countered the claim, citing that actual survey reports that “of a group of 150 Covid-19 patients, 85% said they had worn a mask.”
Moreover, Guthrie pointed out the president’s behavior on social media, specifically on Twitter. After disavowing QAnon, Guthrie mentions Trump’s recent retweet from the QAnon account.
Defending himself, Trump says, “That was a retweet, I’ll put it out there. People can decide for themselves.”
Guthrie then argues:
“I don’t get that. You’re the president. You’re not, like, someone’s crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever.”
Pres. Trump: “That was a retweet, I’ll put it out there. People can decide for themselves.”@SavannahGuthrie: “I don’t get that. You’re the president. You’re not, like, someone’s crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever.” #TrumpTownHall pic.twitter.com/qxTi9BNJjb
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) October 16, 2020
While many hailed Guthrie for way of moderating, the Trump campaign has since slammed the NBC host. As early as less than an hour after the event, his communications director released an official statement.
🚨Statement from @TeamTrump on tonight's town halls:
“Even though the commission canceled the in-person debate that could have happened tonight, one occurred anyway, and President Trump soundly defeated NBC’s Savannah Guthrie." pic.twitter.com/7GME3jFHeN
— Andrew Clark 🎃 (@AndrewHClark) October 16, 2020
Tim Murtaugh points out that even though the second Presidential Debate didn’t push through, one happened anyway. He called Guthrie a “Joe Biden surrogate.”
Featured image courtesy of NBC News/YouTube Screenshot