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The former president repeatedly dodged and mocked questions from CNN host Caitlan Collins during a 70-minute live forum at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire Wednesday night. He furthered false allegations that “election fraud” led to his downfall in 2020, calling author E. Gene Carroll, who just won a lawsuit against him for defamation and assault, “a terrible job.” elicited cheers and laughter. From an audience made up of local Republican voters.
And when asked why Collins removed classified documents from the White House, he said, “You’re a jerk.”
“It was dire, as expected.” Former network TV news executive Mark Lukasiewicz wrote:, part of a chorus of media critics and political observers who lamented the broadcast spectacle. “Lying works. His friendly MAGA crowd keeps laughing and clapping at President Trump’s punch line…and the host can’t keep up with his AR-15 lying pace.” ”
With CNN struggling to turn around viewership declines, Nielsen reported only 3.1 million viewers overall, and the telecast was a letdown in ratings. That was well above CNN’s typical 8 p.m. telecast, but viewership was higher than last summer’s CNN Town Hall with President Biden (3.7 million) and the past six episodes reported by Fox News. Less than President Trump’s town hall, it calls into question both CNN and Trump’s ability to draw crowds.
But a more serious impact may have been the damage to the network’s reputation, which has long touted itself as “the most trusted name in news.” He also replaced Jeff Zucker, Trump’s friend-turned-critic last year, and is being blamed for playing a more neutral tone on the cable channel, which was filled with fervent commentary during the Trump presidency. Questions were also raised about the future prospects of CEO Chris Licht.
CNN journalists and outside journalists have described City Hall as a “fiasco”, a “disaster” and a “CNN’s worst momentsOn Twitter, the hashtags and phrases BoycottCNN, DoneWithCNN and ByeCNN trended late Wednesday.
The gist of the criticism is that the format CNN has long used for other candidates enabled Trump to filibuster, hinder real-time fact-checking, and enable the dishonest rehash of Trump’s record. is. “In terms of total control of the stage and WWE-style platform dynamics, the scary truth is that this outcome was predetermined.” tweeted Veteran political writer James Fallows. Some compared the show to a modified Trump campaign rally of the kind CNN occasionally broadcast live during the 2015-2016 election, but Zucker later said he regretted it. rice field.
Licht defended the decision to welcome President Trump in this format during a regular morning meeting with network staff on Thursday.
“I know there are people who have opinions.” [and] There will be a backlash and that is absolutely to be expected,” he said, according to the audio recording. “And I’ll say it as clearly as I can. You don’t have to like the former president’s answer, but I can’t say we didn’t get it. People woke up and understood what the stakes were in this election in a way they didn’t know the day before.”
Licht also praised Collins’ “superb performance” as host, calling her a “rock star”.
Licht, however, came under fire from his own journalists. “We were doing it wrong,” said the on-show personality. “We treated him as a normal, fact-checkable politician. We ended up dancing around the agitator.”
“We should have taped the fact-checking interviews,” said one CNN correspondent, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect relationships and careers as well as broadcast personalities. “Audiences were laughing at his comments about Jean Carroll. Shame on you.”
In a meeting with staff, Licht defended the decision that led to the cheers of a partisan audience, stating: And the mistake the media has made in the past is ignoring those people. “
Another staffer offered background to avoid retaliation, suggesting Licht and other executives who approved the event should resign.
Right now, that seems like an unlikely outcome. At least in public, Licht has the backing of his boss, Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav. A spokesperson for the company, reached out for comment on Thursday, said in an interview with Mr. Zaslav on CNBC last week that he stood by his lieutenant and dismissed some of the criticism that erupted after the city hall announcement. (“We have a divided government, right? We need to hear both voices,” Zaslav said at the time. “All voices should be heard.”)
An executive close to Zaslav said both the board and executives understand that the news business is in trouble right now and are prepared to give CNN enough time to find a foothold.
Nonetheless, Trump City Hall is becoming the new place of disappointment under Licht’s watch. Despite his mission to tweak CNN’s daily line-up and reposition the network as a neutral news provider, Licht was unable to stop ratings from falling to historic lows. not
Licht’s revamp of his flagship CNN morning show largely collapsed with the dismissal of co-anchor Don Lemmon last month. Collins, the station’s rising star, was also transferred to the morning as an anchor last fall. People inside the company expect her to be promoted to the 9:00 p.m., as there has been no permanent host since CNN fired Chris Cuomo in December 2021. And a source close to the decision-making said the controversy at City Hall would remain unchanged. Licht’s plan for her.
CNN’s daily media newsletter Reliable Sources gave a candid assessment of Wednesday’s events. “It’s hard to understand how the false spectacle that aired on CNN Wednesday evening pleased America,” reporter Oliver Darcy wrote Wednesday night.
But a troop of analysts and commentators CNN aired late Wednesday to assess President Trump’s performance at City Hall (“We don’t have enough time to fact-check all the lies he’s told,” said the caster.) ‘s Jake Tupper) said nothing about what happened next. It is the network’s own decision to host a forum.
At least one of the network’s paid commentators issued a dissenting opinion before the Trump episode aired. US Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was injured defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots, published an essay in Rolling Stone magazine indicting the show’s decision.
“Having Trump take the stage and answer questions like a normal candidate who didn’t kill anyone in the process of trying to end the democracy he’s trying to run again,” Fanone said. It normalizes behavior,” he wrote. “This sends the message that the attempted coup is only part of the process. Accepting the election results is a choice. has no effect.”
In an interview last week, CNN political director David Chalian said Trump was the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, a former president who has been impeached twice and has been criminally indicted. He justified the event by pointing out that he was in a “peculiar” position. 6 The Capitol riot didn’t change the network’s journalism mission.
“It would be difficult to say [the format] “It’s less revealing than a one-on-one interview,” he said.
Charian did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. “I think Chris took our position very well with this morning’s coverage,” CNN spokesman Matt Dornick said in an email. [editorial] meeting. “
President Trump was one such example, expressing his satisfaction with the event. “I hope you all enjoy CNN tonight,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “The New Hampshire audience was amazing. Thank you!”
But the atmosphere inside CNN was dark.
“I can’t believe anyone thought this was a good idea,” said one staff member, who requested anonymity to avoid career implications. “I have been a journalist for CNN for many years. I am always so proud to say so. I have never been ashamed of CNN until tonight.”
Elahe Izadi and Sarah Ellison contributed to this report.
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