Donald Trump heads to CNN for a Townhall: After years of slamming the news network as “fake news,” the former president will appear on the network later this month for a candidate town hall.
Yes, You Read that Right: Donald Trump Will Be on CNN
In a shocking bit of news, Donald Trump is going to appear on CNN.
The former president has been at odds with CNN since his first run for president beginning in 2015, but he has agreed to appear at a town hall event in New Hampshire on May 10, the network announced Monday.
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, who served as a White House correspondent during his presidency, will host the town hall. Questions will be asked by “New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary,” the network said.
Donald Trump has frequently denounced CNN as “fake news.” His interview with Jake Tapper in June of 2016 appears to be the last time he sat for a lengthy interview with anyone from that network.
Politico sees the Trump CNN appearance as an “implicit dig at Fox,” especially after the firing of Fox host Tucker Carlson last week.
The report also noted that Trump’s team has talked with other news outlets, including NBC News, about doing sit-downs.
Fox is set to host the first Republican presidential debate, although Trump has hinted that he might skip it, as he did with one Fox debate in early 2016.
“Those in the former president’s orbit believe that by giving interviews and access to mainstream outlets, they can broaden Trump’s message — and create a contrast with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has widely been seen as more closed off toward mainstream outlets while granting interviews to conservative ones,” Politico said. The story added that CNN had reached out to Trump about participating and that talks had gone on for months.
While Donald Trump often feuded with the media throughout his 2016 campaign and his time in the White House, he also cultivated the media and considered it very important how he came across on television and in newspapers. Other Republicans, like DeSantis, have sought to cut off the mainstream, non-conservative media altogether.
The move to host Trump also represents part of a shift for CNN, which has reportedly been pivoting to a more centrist direction since its parent company, WarnerMedia, was purchased a year ago by Discovery Networks. However, the recent firing of morning anchor Don Lemon reportedly had less to do with any ideological shift than with Lemon’s history of behavior.
The decision by CNN has also led to some negative reactions from some of the left who don’t believe that Trump should be “platformed” by mainstream media organizations.
“CNN is hosting a Town Hall for Trump? This is what choosing profits over news looks like in action,” journalist Toure said on Twitter Monday.
“CNN just announced that it will host Donald Trump for a live town hall in New Hampshire. CNN is giving Donald Trump a free & national platform to spew lies. They’ve learned absolutely nothing & they’re exactly why our media is failing us & our democracy,” former White House staffer Victor Shi tweeted Monday.
“So is CNN going to give Trump a platform when he is only questioned by Republican and independent voters and allow him to spout his lies about the 2020 election (and everything else); his assorted conspiracy theories; his racist rhetoric; and his promotion of political violence?,” journalist David Corn said on Twitter.
There seems to be a widespread belief that putting Trump on TV constantly is what caused him to win in 2016 and that the best way to keep that from happening again is by ignoring Trump and hoping he’ll go away.
But that’s not really how these things work – it’s not CNN’s job, after all, to prevent Trump from winning, and a public interview with someone who is both a former president and a current presidential candidate is not something that any news outlet should turn down. And besides- Trump is currently in the news for several different reasons.
The key will be whether Collins challenges Donald Trump directly; she had a history of doing so when she was the White House correspondent.
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Expertise and Experience: Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
