For grateful NBC, Savannah Guthrie changes the subject
NEW YORK » Savannah Guthrie did more than just display her journalistic chops at NBC News’ town hall with President Donald Trump. She changed the subject for her bosses.
NBC was reeling heading into Thursday’s event, underwidespread criticism for scheduling it at the same time as ABC’s town hall with Democratic opponent Joe Biden. NBCwas accused of rewarding Trump for rejecting the debate commission’s plan to do the second debate virtually.
That was quickly forgotten when the president sat opposite Guthrie, who questioned him specifically onwhenhe last tested positive for COVID-19 ( he said he didn’t remember), whether he had pneumonia (didn’t say) and his personal finances.
The Georgetown Law School graduate had clearly done her homework, seemingly prepared for each response. When the president recited a statistic from a study on the effectiveness ofmasks in spreading COVID-19, Guthriehad read it, too, and countered him.
As host of the “Today” show, Guthrie knows the importance of time and how to stop an interview subject from filibustering. That background also teaches how to crystallize what an audience is thinking in a plain-spoken way, as evidenced in her mostquoted moment.
She was incredulous when, after asking why Trump had retweeted a false conspiracy theory that American special forces didn’t really kill Osama bin Laden, he said that he “just put it out there” tolet people decide for themselves.
“I don’t get that,” Guthrie said. “You’re the president.
You’re not like you’re somebody’s crazy uncle who can just retweet anything.”
Similarly, Guthrie described the theory promoted online by QAnon that Democrats are running a satanicpedophile ringand that Trump was the savior meant to stop them, and asked why he didn’t denounce it. Trump said he knew nothing about it. “I just told you,” she said. Just because she says something doesn’t mean it’s true, the president retorted.
“There’s not a satanic pedophile cult,” she said. “You don’t know that?”
Trump is “hands down” the most difficult public figure to interview, said Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, whowith Fox News’ Chris Wallace and now Guthrie have received the most praise of any TV journalists to take him on this election cycle.
“The biggest challenge with PresidentTrump is that it’s never a linear conversation,” Swan said. “It’s like riding a bronco. The crafting of the questions doesn’t really matter because he responds to topics.”
It requires enormous homework, both to know the facts andanticipatehow Trumpwill respond, hesaid. Even then, it’s possible to become
so absorbed in factchecking that it disrupts the flow of conversation, he said.
When Guthrie asked Trump about his personal finances and taxes, the president tried to cut off the conversation by saying what he has since 2016, that he couldn’t talk about it because he was under audit. Guthrie said there was no lawthat prevented someone being audited fromdiscussing his taxes, and pressed on: “Who do you owe $421 million to?” she asked.
She jumped inwhen, during a discussion aboutWhite House events where masks were not worn, the president mentioned how he was touchedbypeopleat a reception for relatives of military members killed in service.
“Do you believe a grievingmilitary family gave you COVID,” she asked.
She took an unusual amount of time for headto-head questioning, given that the format called for questions fromthe audience to dominate the event. She followed up audience questions, too: When Trump talked about health care and maintaining protection for preexisting conditions, Guthrie pointed out that his administrationwas trying in court to eliminate that.