CNN’s choice to organize a town hall with Donald Trump has been criticized.
The former president held court for most of the 70-minute session while moderator Kaitlan Collins struggled to maintain order in front of a fervently pro-Trump crowd in New Hampshire.
Supporters and detractors of the ex-president were both enthused and appalled by the town hall event.
New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed it was inappropriate to give Trump a microphone so he could trash E. Jean Carroll, the woman who had won a controversial monetary award from Trump.
Turning Point USA founder and Trump supporter Charlie Kirk criticized Ocasio-Cortez’s concerns.
He wrote that AOC is “raging” because CNN gave a platform to Trump to remind the American people just how popular his policies are and how horrible Joe Biden’s presidency is.
Turning Point ambassador Evan Kilgore said the spectacle would increase Trump’s election prospects.
Trump stepped all over Kaitlan Collins,’ musician Trill Clinton tweeted. He said the town hall’s only goal was to boost viewership and serve as clickbait.
Some people disagreed with Trump’s responses quite vehemently, arguing that they showed he was unsuitable for government.
Trump-obsessed Wyoming Republican and co-chair of the January 6 Committee, Liz Cheney, stated emphatically that President Trump did not direct the National Guard to guard the Capitol building on or before January 6.
She, not surprisingly, concluded that he was unqualified for public service.
The View’s Ana Navarro, a supposed Republican political pundit who always supports the left, declared Joe Biden, the town hall winner.
Joy Behar observed that the audience was heavily stacked in Trump’s favor, which is “unacceptable.” The natural order of things is for it to be the reverse.
There was also widespread criticism of Trump’s performance from those who back Ron DeSantis, who is widely seen as Trump’s most formidable opponent for the 2024 nomination.
Many people objected to Trump’s description of moderator Kaitlin Collins as “nasty.” Others felt that the “moderator” was debating Trump, which is not the role of a moderator.
One could even say it’s pretty nasty for a moderator to be so biased.