Donald Trump Steamrolls Through CNN Town Hall – Deadline

[ad_1]

About 50 minutes into a CNN town hall with Donald Trump, moderator Kaitlan Collins told him, “The election was not rigged, Mr. President. You can’t say that all night.”

It was a futile attempt to try to point him to his oft-repeated baseless claim that the 2020 presidential race was stolen from him, but Trump never wavered from his claim. , like he hadn’t done since election night.

In the immediate aftermath of the event, CNN took a drubbing on social media for giving Trump a platform to spew lies for 70 or so minutes. Collins himself has drawn praise for his efforts to fact-check Trump in real time and to interrupt him with some members. But before a Republican audience gave him two standing ovations, the format instead played to Trump’s strengths. As she moved through the answers, the friendly crowd clapped and laughed and, when given the chance, asked softball questions.

The craziest part was when the audience laughed as he talked about the $5 million judgment from a jury that found him liable for sexual assault and defamation. Trump treated the subject as an opportunity for entertainment. He first bragged about his poll numbers and then mocked his accuser, E. Jean Carroll. And instead of any serious discussion about sexual assault, she explained why she still stands by what she said on the infamous Access Hollywood tape. Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson wrote that the moment “spreads the leadership cult” of Trump, and others wanted some kind of real-time call from Trump and his supporters in the audience.

Some of Collins’ journalism colleagues said he was in an impossible position, and the network supported him in a post-town hall statement in which they said he “asked tough, fair and revealing questions .” Collins, in line to take over the network’s 9 p.m. hour, tried to pin Trump down on several other points, including whether he wants Ukraine to win the war with Russia, and whether he would support a national abortion ban. But as we’ve seen time and time again, Trump presents a unique challenge to even the most experienced and prepared journalists. After the event ended, anchor Jake Tapper told the audience that it had been an “interesting night” and that “the lies just keep coming fast and furious.”

The town hall may have boosted Trump’s popularity among Republican voters, but he may not have done himself any favors when it came to active investigations against him. Greg Bluestein of The Atlanta Journal Constitution referenced one of his comments, in which he admitted to telling Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, “You owe me a vote because the election was rigged.” Trump may also have given his potential rematch rival, Joe Biden, more ammunition, as his campaign responded to the event with a tweet: “Do you want four more years of that?”

When Trump called Collins “ugly,” it was a sign that he had gotten under his skin. But he didn’t really divert his stream-of-consciousness way of running out the clock. CNN defended its decision to hold the town hall with Trump by pointing to the fact that he is the Republican front runner. But as the candidate who broke with customs and traditions, who called for an end to the Constitution and would not accept the last election as legitimate, Trump is unlike any other major presidential candidate. CNN may have gotten big numbers for the event, but eight years later, much of the media is still at a loss as to how to cover him.

[ad_2]