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- NBC producers, actors, and actors have penned a letter asking the network to change the time of Trump’s town hall, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal.
- Both Biden and Trump will host a town hall at 8 p.m. EST Thursday, but on different networks.
- NBC asked ABC to move the time of the Biden town hall, but ABC declined, according to the report.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A large swath of current NBC employees including writers, actors, and producers have signed a letter speaking out against the network’s recent decision to host a town hall with President Trump at the same time as ABC’s town hall with former vice president Biden, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The letter, addressed to NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde, and Brian Roberts, CEO of NBC parent company, Comcast, doesn’t attack Trump’s politics, but rather states that by airing the town halls at the same time, NBC is “enabling the President’s bad behavior while undercutting the Presidential Debate Commission and doing a disservice to the American public.”
The letter was signed by “This is Us” creator Dan Fogelman and cast members Sterling K. Brown, Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia. TV writer Ryan Murphy, actor and director Ben Stiller, and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, who signed a production deal with NBCUniversal earlier this year, according to the Hollywood Reporter, signed the letter as well.
A spokesperson for NBCUniversal was not immediately available for comment.
It’s worth noting that the letter does not ask for the event to be canceled, but rather a time change.
"We are simply asking that NBC air the President's town hall either before or after Vice President Biden's so that American voters can have the opportunity to watch both," the letter says.
The two town halls came to fruition after the second presidential debate was canceled after Trump refused to participate in a virtual debate. Even though the town halls are on two different channels, Biden will still have more screen time, as the ABC event is 90 minutes, while Trump's NBC event is just one hour.
The Wall Street Journal reported that, according to a NBC spokesperson, the decision was made to air the Trump town hall at the same time as the Biden town hall because Biden has had the 8 p.m. EST time slot for past events, and the network wanted to keep things equal between the candidates. NBC had also asked ABC to move Biden's town hall to a later time in order to avoid this scheduling conflict, according to the Journal.
For those who want to watch the town halls, they both commence at 8 p.m. EST tonight.
Trump's town hall will be simulcast on NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, and Spanish-language network Telemundo.
Biden's town hall will be aired on ABC News and a live steam.