Fox News Stars Slated to Get Coronavirus Tests Following Trump Disclosure

2020 presidential debates is just about here. After a chaotic first matchup between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, a more subdued (but still buzzy) vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, and dueling Trump-Biden town hall events in lieu of a second debate, the whole process has felt long and, at times, extremely disorderly.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterThe Sinclair Broadcast Group will hold a town hall with President Donald Trump next Wednesday, one day before the final presidential debate.The event will be taped at the White House and moderated by Eric Bolling, the former Fox News host who left the network amid sexual harassment allegations in 2017.

During President Donald Trump's town hall on Thursday, current and former showrunners, producers and stars — including a handful of current and former NBC talent — who signed aletter of protest against the event continued to criticize the network for its decision and how the event played out. More than 100 top figures in the industry had criticized the network on Wednesday for choosing to air the town hall during the same day and time as ABC'stown hall with former vice president Joe Biden.

Ted Johnson, Dominic Patten Donald Trump’s town hall with NBC News — competing against a similar event with Joe Biden on ABC News — opened with a contentious series of questions with moderator Savannah Guthrie.At times, Trump sounded angry and irate as Guthrie grilled him over the details of his testing results, his failure to immediately condemn white supremacists and his trafficking of conspiracy theories.Guthrie, co-anchor of Today, asked Trump why he retweeted a tweet earlier this week that

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsRefresh for updates: Tension between Thursday night’s presidential town halls continues to unfold as hoards of Twitter users are calling to boycott NBC’s coverage of President Donald Trump in favor of ABC’s Joe Biden event. Outrage sparked as NBC announced that its town hall will air at the same time and date as ABC’s.

Ted Johnson NBC News indicated that it is not backing off plans for a town hall with Donald Trump scheduled at the same time that ABC News is doing a similar event with Joe Biden.The scheduling has drawn criticism, including from more than 100 producers, directors and writers who signed their names to a letter urging NBC to move the time of the town hall.In a statement, Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCU News Group, said, “We share in the frustration that our event will initially air alongside the

Donald Trump on Thursday night at the same time Joe Biden's town hall is airing on ABC.Deadline reports that a group of actors, producers, writers, and directors wrote an open letter to the network asking for Trump's town hall to be moved before or after Biden's. The lengthy list of stars who signed the letter include the cast of NBC'sThis Is Us, Mariska Hargitay, Aaron Sorkin, J.J.

Ted Johnson NBC News is taking heat for its decision to schedule a town hall on Thursday evening with President Donald Trump that will compete head-to-head with ABC News’ event with Joe Biden.The backlash comes after Trump refused to participate in a virtual town hall debate with Biden, long scheduled for Oct. 15, forcing the Commission on Presidential Debates to cancel the event.

Jordan Moreau More than 100 Hollywood actors, directors, producers and showrunners have sent a petition to NBCUniversal and Comcast executives protesting the timing of President Donald Trump’s town hall on Thursday night, which airs at the same time as Joe Biden’s event.The lengthy list of signees includes Ava DuVernay, J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Aaron Sorkin and many more who have worked with NBCUniversal at some point.

Donald Trump before voters in a town hall event on Thursday after the president submitted to an independent coronavirus test with the results reviewed by Dr. Anthony Fauci.The announcement Wednesday sets up dueling town halls with Democratic opponent Joe Biden on a night the two candidates were supposed to meet for their second debate.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC News will move forward with an 8 p.m.

Ted Johnson Donald Trump called into Rush Limbaugh’s radio show on Friday for what was billed as a “rally,” and it turned into a two-hour marathon of media bashing, insistence that there is a COVID-19 cure, and a reversal on where the president stands on another coronavirus relief package.As he did on previous interviews, Trump called for indictments of political rivals, and chided his attorney general, William Barr, for reports that he would not finish an investigation of the Mueller

Ted Johnson President Donald Trump will give his first on-camera interview since testing positive for the coronavirus, with a scheduled appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight that includes a medical evaluation by Dr. Marc Siegel.Trump will appear remotely from the White House, where he has been since Monday recovering from COVID-19.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorGet ready for more books from the anchors at Fox News Channel and its related businesses.Fox News Media said it struck a three-book deal with Harper Collins Publishers that will feature titles from the media unit’s various on-air personalities. Both Fox News and HarperCollins are controlled by the Murdoch family, the former as part of Fox Corporation and the latter under the family’s other business, News Corporation.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticAmanda Kloots, the former actress who chronicled her late husband Nick Cordero’s painful decline from COVID-19, has responded to Donald Trump’s Don’t let COVID dominate your life advice, calling the president’s words sad, hurtful and disgraceful.Yesterday Trump, hospitalized over the weekend for COVID treatment, announced his departure from Walter Reed Medical Center with instantly divisive tweet, “Don’t be afraid of Covid.

Ted Johnson Joe Biden said that he was not surprised by the news that President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, telling NBC News’ Lester Holt that “anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying masks don’t matter, social distancing doesn’t matter, are responsible for what happens to them.”Appearing at NBC News’ outdoor town hall in Miami, Biden did say that he was glad that the president “seems to be coming along pretty well.”But alluding to the president’s return to the White

Ted Johnson Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace, the moderator of the recent presidential debate, said that he plans to get tested for the coronavirus following President Donald Trump’s announcement that he and First Lady Melania Trump that they tested positive.On Fox News’ Outnumbered, Wallace also said that he believes that the president had coronavirus during the debate.Meanwhile, other Fox News figures who attended the debate also plan to get tested, according to a source familiar with the

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox News paid a settlement valued as much as $4 million to an assistant to former “The Five” host Kimberly Guilfoyle – now a senior member of President Donald’s Trump’s re-election campaign – after that staffer detailed allegations of harassment in a draft complaint, according to a report in The New Yorker.The report, citing “two well-informed sources,” said Fox News paid the female assistant the money in exchange for keeping the matter from going to trial.