NBC's Savannah Guthrie was heavily criticized for the way she conducted the town hall with President Trump on Thursday, as he badgered Trump over COVID-19, white supremacy, and QAnon for the first 20 minutes of the event.
But not all who watched the town hall, which was put on after the second debate was canceled, were so critical of Guthrie. Many of the compliments of her performance on social media unsurprisingly came from those who work in the mainstream media.
Given the backlash against @NBCNews for holding its Trump town hall now, there was insane pressure on @savannahguthrie to press @potus at every step. That is exactly what she is doing, to superb effect.
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) October 16, 2020
One of the best moments of @SavannahGuthrie's career.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 16, 2020
I am sorry that NBC did this, and that she agreed to do it. But you are right.
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) October 16, 2020
Well done by Savannah Guthrie https://t.co/ZX7l4vnek4
— lisa mirando (@LisaMirandoCNN) October 16, 2020
I'm impressed with Guthrie's preparedness so far - she's been ready for some of Trump's regular false claims.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 16, 2020
Who has taken on Trump better than Savannah Guthrie?
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) October 16, 2020
For everyone who @me for the last 24 hours about whether Savannah Guthrie would hold his feet to the fire..you can apologize to me now.
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) October 16, 2020
Savannah Guthrie is doing a phenomenal job tonight.
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) October 16, 2020
Savannah Guthrie is putting on a masterclass. Having fact checks ready. Not letting lengthy filibusters. Sharp questions, cutting in regularly to set the record straight and keep things focused.
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) October 16, 2020
Very similar to Wallace/Swan interviews.
NBC faced some backlash from online liberals because they did not want to have Trump take up airtime while Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was also having a town hall with ABC News.