Trump pushed back on false election claims in CNN town hall

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Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire, US, on Thursday, April 27, 2023.

Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday pushed back against false claims that his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden was “cheating” as he clashed with a CNN host in a live town hall.

Trump also repeatedly criticized the woman who in a civil lawsuit accused him of rape, a day after a jury in that case found him liable for sexual assault and defamation.

The 70-minute event in New Hampshire marked Trump’s first appearance on the network since the 2016 presidential campaign, according to CNN. It was moderated by “CNN This Morning” anchor Kaitlan Collins, who attempted to fact-check Trump in real time. It featured a live audience of Republicans and undeclared voters.

Most people were very favorable to Trump, often clapping and laughing in support of his remarks.

Trump, who for years falsely claimed he beat Biden in 2020, told Collins that “unless you’re a very stupid person, you’ll see what happened” in that contest. Asked if he would publicly acknowledge his loss, Trump referred to claims from a group promoting election conspiracy theories.

Trump also defended his supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when asked if he regretted his actions that day. Trump said the people who came to hear him deliver a speech near the Capitol that some of them would storm the Capitol and disrupt the transition of power from Trump to Biden were “there with love in their hearts.”

“It’s a good day,” Trump said, going on to suggest that former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was to blame for the chaos.

He also said he would likely forgive “a lot of them” if he won back to the White House in 2024.

When an undeclared voter asked him about the nation’s debt and the ongoing bickering in Congress over the debt ceiling, Trump said the US should default if Democrats don’t agree to big cuts in spending.

“Well you might as well do it nowbecause you’ll do it later because we have to save this country,” Trump said of his views on a nationwide default.

Collins has repeatedly pressed Trump on abortion, likely to be a major issue in the 2024 cycle. Trump, who has been more vague than some of his GOP competitors, has repeatedly refused to give a firm answer on whether he would sign a federal abortion ban if re-elected.

“I’m going to settle to make people happy,” he said at one point, citing his conservative Supreme Court picks as critical of last year’s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. When the host continued to push for clarity, he said, “I’m looking for a solution that will work.”

The conversation also turned to Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Trump avoiding questions about whether he wanted Ukraine to win but saying he thought Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invasion was “a huge mistake .”

The town hall sometimes felt like a debate, with Collins often interjecting to refute Trump’s statements and the former president responding aggressively.

“You’re a rude person,” he told Collins at one point, grilling him about why he brought classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago home after leaving the presidency.

Since souring CNN a few years ago, Trump has trashed the network, its ratings, its leadership and many of its on-air personalities.

But following a change in leadership at CNN and amid reported ratings declines, the network seems to have decided to give Trump another chance.

“He’s the Republican frontrunner. He should be in,” Warner Bros. said. DiscoveryCEO David Zaslav, whose company owns CNN, about Trump on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week. The town hall was also seen as a test of CNN CEO Chris Licht’s rule against airing disinformation.

The decision has raised concerns from Trump’s critics, who argue that giving the former president a live platform to spread misinformation ignores the lessons the media learned during his presidency. Some of them also accused Licht of trying to woo a more focused audience as part of his overhaul of the network.

E. Jean Carroll appears in Manhattan Federal Court following a verdict in civil rape charges against former US President Donald Trump, in New York City, May 9, 2023.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

The timing only heightens the controversy. The town hall came a day after a New York jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation in a civil suit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.

The jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

It’s far from clear whether the outcome of that trial, which Trump refuted in a stream of social media posts Tuesday night and which his attorney has vowed to appeal, will affect his 2024 Republican bid. presidential nomination.

During the town hall, Trump repeatedly mocked Carroll to the cheers and laughs of the crowd.

Trump, who lost his 2020 reelection bid to Biden, still appears to be the de facto head of the Republican Party. Even his would-be arch-rivals had mostly muted reactions to the jury’s damning verdict.

Trump appeared to mock CNN before the town hall, suggesting in a social media post that the network booked him “because they’re rightly desperate to get these amazing (TRUMP!) ratings back.”

“It could be the beginning of the New & Vibrant CNN, with no more Fake News, or it could be a disaster for everyone, including me. Let’s see what happens?” Trump wrote.

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