President Donald Trump will take part in an NBC News town hall event in Miami on Thursday, the network announced Wednesday, after Trump produced a Covid-19 test showing he is not contagious.
The town hall, moderated by "TODAY" anchor Savannah Guthrie, will take place on the same evening — and at the same time — that Joe Biden is doing his own town hall event in Philadelphia on ABC News at 8 p.m. ET.
Trump and Biden were supposed to hold their second debate on Thursday night, but Trump pulled out after organizers announced it was going to be conducted virtually. The last presidential debate is scheduled for next Thursday, Oct. 22.
During the one-hour town hall with Trump on Thursday, Guthrie will moderate a conversation between Trump and a group of Florida voters.
It will take place outdoors at the Pérez Art Museum in accordance with guidelines set forth by health officials and consistent with all government regulations.
NBC News said it had received a statement from Dr. Clifford Lane, clinical director at the National Institutes of Health, indicating that he and Dr. Anthony Fauci had reviewed Trump's recent medical data, including a molecular PCR test collected and analyzed by the NIH on Tuesday, and concluded "with a high degree of confidence" that the president was "not shedding infectious virus."
Both Guthrie and the president will be at least 12 feet apart from each other and the audience. The audience will also be socially distanced and required to wear masks, answer a symptoms questionnaire and take a temperature check before entering the outdoor venue. Every NBC News staffer will be tested on site in Miami.
