CNN’s town hall with Trump takes on added stakes : NPR

CNN host Kaitlan Collins is under more pressure on her network as Wednesday night’s City Hall event with former President Donald Trump becomes an even bigger stake. On Tuesday, Trump was found guilty of battery and defamation in E. Gene Carroll’s civil lawsuit against him.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CNN. Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images/Getty/CNN

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Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CNN. Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images/Getty/CNN

CNN host Kaitlan Collins is under more pressure on her network as Wednesday night’s City Hall event with former President Donald Trump becomes an even bigger stake. On Tuesday, Trump was found guilty of battery and defamation in E. Gene Carroll’s civil lawsuit against him.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CNN. Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images/Getty/CNN

After being convicted of assault and defamation of a woman alleging he raped a woman in the 1990s, former President Donald Trump will be questioned at the news network’s live Town Hall event, where the journalist said: While running for president and in public office, he was an “enemy of the people.”

The immediate stakes for Trump and CNN were already high before the head of the jury announced the verdict in a courtroom in lower Manhattan on Tuesday.

For months, Trump has been on Fox News, which serves as the pillar of the Republican Party, and its owners Rupert and Lachlan, who are auditioning Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the Republican presidential candidate in front of a Fox audience. I’m furious with Murdoch.

Hours before the civil lawsuit against E. Jean Carroll was ruled on Tuesday, Trump wrote an angry post on his Truth social accounts, citing the Murdochs, Fox corporate director Paul Ryan, and Mr. (“Worst Republican Party Speaker Ever”), and their main newspaper, The Wall. The Street Journal he wrote and Fox are “decaying rapidly.” (Admittedly, primetime ratings have plummeted since the firing of star Tucker Carlson late last month, but Fox officials have suggested they will recover once a permanent replacement is named.) there is.)

The CNN appearance was intended to demonstrate Trump’s independence from the networks his fans often favored. Not a complete blackout of his Fox. Trump interviewed Fox hosts Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Carlson earlier this year.

CNN also has a lot to prove. Chairman and CEO Chris Licht, in his first year in office, has responded to the crises and controversies that have characterized his administration by erasing his relentless criticism of Trump from his networks. , tried to leave his mark on the network. Many Republicans argue that CNN has become too ideological.

Licht canceled Brian Stelter’s media criticism show Reliable Sources and shifted primetime star Don Lemon to the morning. Both hosts have been outspoken with Trump. Lemmon was fired this spring following sexism accusations against him on air and against a female co-host. Licht told his staff he was rebuilding the channel’s original identity.

He echoes the message of his boss, David Zaslav, chief executive officer of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

‘America has split the government’ Zaslav said on CNBC last week“We need to hear both voices. Republicans are on CNN. Democrats are on CNN. All voices should be heard on CNN.”

“Our network is about the best version of the truth,” said Zaslav. “This is the new CNN.”

Live town hall with Trump risks CNN

CNN’s Town Hall announcement with Trump sparked a backlash from both liberals and journalists who questioned the wisdom of broadcasting Trump live when Trump headed to the White House in 2015 and 2016. , the press repeatedly failed to adequately cover him. His rapid-fire hyperbole and frivolity with false claims and outright lies overwhelmed the reporter’s ability to process the meaning of what he was saying in real time.

MSNBC host Medhi Hasan objected to inviting Trump. he declared that CNN had an obligation Confront the former president in and out of office on his record and his personality. He blames Trump for both his actions prior to the January 6th Capitol riot and recent comments that appear to justify “terminating” parts of the U.S. Constitution. He said CNN should start by asking if he disqualified himself as president.

CNN’s City Hall will be attended by St. Anselm College Republicans and New Hampshire voters. Morning host, he’ll be hosted by Kaitlan Collins. She is well known to Trump as a former White House correspondent for CNN.

CNN’s political director David Chalian said the network approached the event alike for any candidate, but Trump is a former president and the first person to run for the White House in more than a century. He was called a ‘unique candidate’ in that he was

Chalian acknowledged another difference. Trump has destroyed the norms of governance. Although he was not convicted by the U.S. Senate, he was twice impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Obviously, he’s indicted in one case. He’s under investigation in several other cases. Then there’s the Jan. 6 riots and how Donald Trump resigned. “Our job is to question him, follow up, hold him accountable for his words and actions, and in this case, convene this conversation that he will have directly with voters.

Moderator Kaitlan Collins quarreled with Trump as White House reporter

Collins has conservative good intentions as a former reporter for the Daily Caller founded by Carlson. However, she did not display a strong ideological affinity as a reporter for her CNN White House. Admittedly, she was rarely seen as a pushover. House tried unsuccessfully to appear in court to revoke her colleague Jim Acosta’s license.)

This is a more familiar dynamic for Trump and CNN. He has previously accused the network of having “anger and hatred” against him, which he believes works as opposition to his administration.

Now he encourages his followers to watch Wednesday nights. “THEY GOT A DEAL THAT I CANNOT REFUSE!!!” Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social. “It could be the start of a new, vibrant CNN without fake news, or it could be a disaster for everyone, including me.”