Following Wednesday’s town hall on CNN, former President Donald Trump was so encouraged by how things went he reportedly played James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World” on his flight back to Florida in celebration.
According to The Guardian, Trump saw the night as a success. And he wasn’t the only one, of course. CNN faced widespread backlash and criticism for giving the former president such a large platform.
Moderated by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, viewers complained the discussion featured Trump spouting innumerable lies with relatively little pushback, insulting and interrupting Collins and defaming E. Jean Carrol, the woman a jury found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming the day before the town hall.
According to The Guardian’s report, Trump told CNN CEO Chris Licht before the show started that he would boost the network’s ratings, and Licht nodded, saying he should “have a good conversation and have fun.”
The town hall in New Hampshire, where the first GOP presidential primary will be hosted for the 2024 campaign, featured a live audience of mostly Republican-leaning voters. The Guardian reported CNN reached out to Trump’s team as far back as November, after he announced his 2023 candidacy.
Collins hosted Thursday’s episode of CNN Primetime. With a day’s worth of hindsight, she reflected on what the town hall meant going forward.
“About last night: the 70 minutes I spent on stage in New Hampshire with former President Donald Trump was a major inflection point in the Republican party’s search for its nominee, and potentially the starting line for America’s next presidential race,” Collins said.
“It’s important to remember that he is, right now, the GOP front-runner, that he is running, as noted, while being criminally indicted, found civilly liable and under investigation for everything from his handling of classified documents to his business empire.”