Former President Trump snapped at CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins during a contentious town hall event in New Hampshire on Wednesday night, calling her a “nasty person.” As Collins repeatedly asked Trump about his handling of classified documents, Trump paused and asked the network’s star anchor: “Can I talk? Can I answer the question.” “I want you to answer the question, that’s why I asked it,” Collins said. “You’re a nasty person,” Trump responded. During Wednesday’s town hall event Trump largely talked over Collins and refused to concede that he lost the 2020 election. Earlier in the town hall, he praised her as someone “I know very well” before saying “you’re not stupid” but suggesting “maybe you’ve been given an agenda.” The Associated Press has the story:
Trump digs in on election lies at CNN town hall
Newslooks- (APP)
During a tense CNN town hall Wednesday, former President Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election, downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted a woman in response to a civil jury’s finding this week that he was liable of sexually assaulting her.
During the contentious back-and-forth in early-voting New Hampshire — where moderator Kaitlan Collins sometimes struggled to fact-check his misstatements in real time — Trump continued to insist the election had been “rigged,” even though state and federal election officials, his own campaign and White House aides, and numerous courts have rejected his allegations.
Trump also repeatedly minimized the violence caused by a mob of his supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a bid to halt the certification of President Joe Biden’s win. Instead, he said he was inclined to pardon “a large portion” of Jan. 6 defendants if he wins reelection. He also rejected a suggestion that he apologize to his former vice president, Mike Pence, who was targeted by the mob.
“I don’t feel he was in any danger,” he said. In fact, Trump said, Pence was the one who “did something wrong.”
Throughout, the audience of Republican and unaffiliated voters cheered him on, laughing and applauding.
The prime-time forum in New Hampshire brought together a network and candidate who have long sparred with each other. But the stakes were raised considerably Tuesday after jurors in New York found Trump had sexually abused and defamed advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, though they rejected her claim that he raped her nearly three decades ago.
The jury awarded her $5 million in damages. Trump said the ruling was “A DISGRACE” and he vowed to appeal.
Trump, at Wednesday’s event, again insisted he didn’t know Carroll, even as he attacked her in deeply personal terms. “She’s a wack job,” he said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
While the civil trial verdict carries no criminal penalties, it nonetheless revives attention on the myriad investigations facing Trump, who was indicted in New York in March over payments made to women to cover up their allegations of extramarital affairs with him. Trump is also facing investigations in Georgia and Washington over his alleged interference in the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents and potential obstruction of justice.
A small group of anti-Trump protesters gathered Wednesday evening outside the site where the town hall was being held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. Their signs included messages like “Nobody is above the law” and “Elections not insurrection.”
Trump, during the town hall, repeatedly refused to say whether he would sign a federal abortion ban if it landed on his desk, saying he would “negotiate” so “people are happy.”
“I’m looking at a solution that’s going to work,” he said.
The Carroll verdict returned focus to questions about Trump’s treatment of women over the years that he likely will have to address from Collins and the audience. Carroll is one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment over the years; Trump has denied the allegations.
Trump has generally not reacted well when pressed on stage about his behavior toward women, most notably during the first Republican presidential debate of 2015, when he sparred with then-Fox News host Megyn Kelly. He later said she had “blood coming out of her wherever” when she was questioning him.
Trump has a much more contentious relationship with CNN than he had with Fox at the time. Trump has called CNN “fake news” and sparred with Collins. She was once barred from a Rose Garden event after Trump’s team became upset with her shouted questions at an earlier Oval Office availability.
Nonetheless, Trump’s team saw the invitation from CNN as an opportunity to connect with a broader swath of voters than those who usually tune into the conservative outlets he favors.
“President Trump has been battle-tested and is a proven winner. He doesn’t shy away from anything and faces them head on,” said Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung.
The appearance also served as another contrast with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a top rival to Trump for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024 and is expected to launch his campaign in the coming weeks. DeSantis has taken a sheltered media approach, largely eschewing questions from the mainstream press while embracing Fox News, which was once a loyal Trump cheerleader but is now frequently denigrated by the former president.
Trump’s campaign has turned to new channels, including popular conservative podcasts and made-for-social-media videos that often rack up hundreds of thousands of views. His team has also been inviting reporters from a variety of outlets to ride aboard his plane and has been arranging unadvertised stops at local restaurants and other venues to show him interacting with supporters, in contrast to the less charismatic DeSantis.
It remains unclear how or whether Tuesday’s verdict will have any impact on the race. Trump’s indictment in New York only seemed to improve his standing in the GOP primary and his campaign was fundraising off the verdict.
Trump’s rivals weighed in on the verdict, with some hitting him harder than others.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson called the accusations “another example of the indefensible behavior of Donald Trump.” Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy came to Trump’s defense and said he doubted a case would have even been brought if the defendant had been someone other than Trump.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former ally who is now weighing a run as a Trump antagonist, said Trump’s insistence that he had no idea who Carroll was “ridiculous.”
“This kind of conduct is unacceptable for somebody that we call a leader,” Christie told Brian Kilmeade on Fox News radio. “Do I think this is a silver bullet that ends Donald Trump’s candidacy? No. I just think it’s additional weight of evidence that people are going to look at.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is expected to launch a campaign in the coming weeks, told NBC he doesn’t believe voters will pay much attention to the verdict.
“It’s just one more story, focusing on my former running mate, that I know is a great fascination to members of the national media but I just don’t think it’s where the American people are focused,” Pence said. He said he had “never heard or witnessed behavior of that nature” while he was serving under Trump.
The CNN town hall, the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign, already had drawn suspicion from both sides of the political divide.
Democrats questioned whether a man who continues to spread lies about his 2020 election loss — lies that sparked the Capitol riot —- should be given a prime-time platform. Conservatives wondered why Trump would appear on — and potentially give a ratings bump to — a network that he has continually disparaged.
“They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “Could be the beginning of a New & Vibrant CNN, with no more Fake News, or it could turn into a disaster for all, including me. Let’s see what happens? Wednesday Night at 8:00!!!”
He repeated the message in a video Wednesday.
Takeaways from town hall: Trump says sexual assault case was ‘fake,’ attacks accuser, calls Jan. 6 ‘a beautiful day’ during CNN town hall event
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
Donald Trump’s primetime appearance in a live CNN town hall Wednesday had the former president and 2024 presidential candidate doubling down on his false claims as he faced interview questions from a mainstream outlet for the first time in years after largely sticking to friendly conservative media.
Wednesday’s town hall marked Trump’s first appearance on CNN since 2016. He had branded the network “fake news” and never granted any of its journalists an interview while president. Trump’s campaign said he was appearing on the network to step outside of a GOP comfort zone as he already starts to turn his focus to a potential 2024 general election rematch with Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump’s appearance on CNN comes at a time of jarring dualities for the former president: The Republican is facing a crescendo of legal problems yet seems in a stronger position than ever to become his party’s presidential nominee, and he’s attempting to reach mainstream media viewers despite having deepened his embrace of extremists since leaving the White House.
Here’s what to know about Trump’s CNN town hall:
QUESTIONS ON SEXUAL ASSAULT
Trump’s appearance came a day after a New York jury found him liable for sexually abusing a woman nearly 30 years ago and defaming her when she spoke about it publicly.
Jurors awarded columnist E. Jean Carroll $5 million in damages. The jury rejected her claim of rape and instead found Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual assault. Trump denied it, saying he never encountered Carroll at a 1996 department store and did not know her and has said he plans to appeal the verdict.
Trump skipped attending the trial and did not testify in his own defense during the proceedings, with jurors instead being shown video from a pretrial deposition, making Wednesday the first time he’s had to face a public questioning in the case.
Trump, when asked by CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins about the verdict, said his poll numbers went up and repeated his statements that he didn’t know Carroll, though at least one photograph has surfaced of them together.
“I don’t know her. I never met her. I had no idea who she is.” He dismissed a question from Collins about whether it would impact his standing with female voters and in response, he launched into a recounting of Carroll’s claims in a mocking voice, drawing laughs and claps from the live audience. Collins tried to interrupt but Trump continued and called it “a fake story” and referred to Carroll as “a wack job.”
TRUMP TREATMENT OF WOMEN
Collins asked Trump about his comments in the infamous “Access Hollywood” video in which he bragged about grabbing women’s genitals without asking permission. The video was played in the trial and Collins asked him Wednesday if he stood by his remarks.
Trump defended his comments, saying that he had said women let him grab their genitals without permission because he was a star.
“I can’t take that back because it happens to be true,” Trump said.
REPEATING ELECTION LIES
Trump, with his first question from Collins about why he should be elected again, started almost immediately by repeating his lies about the 2020 presidential election and repeating his unfounded claims of election fraud.
Striking a more muted tone than he usually uses on stage before his cheering supporters, Trump called it a “rigged election” and a “shame” before Collins cut him off, correcting his statements and asking him to publicly acknowledge his loss to Biden.
Trump did not, immediately returning to his claims. As Collins continued to try to fact check Trump, he interrupted again, calling for honest elections and then pivoting to other subjects like immigration.
He came back to his claims at other points in the town hall, sprinkling the lie into answers on unrelated subjects and prompting Collins to interrupt him and correct him.
DEFENSE OF JAN. 6 INSURRECTION
Trump, after shunning tough questioning for years, returned to a mainstream network for the first time since spreading lies about his 2020 election loss that spurred deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Collins asked Trump if he regretted his actions on Jan. 6, and the former president quickly began praising the size of the crowd he spoke to that day before some began marching on the Capitol and said the attendees believed the election was “rigged.”
“They were there proud. They were there with love in their heart. That was unbelievable and it was a beautiful day,” Trump said.
Collins pressed Trump on why he didn’t ask his supporters to leave the Capitol or send help to disperse the protesters, and he deflected, trying to cast blame on then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He at one point pulled out printed copies of his Twitter posts that day in which he finally, hours after the attack on the Capitol began, asked his supporters to leave the Capitol.
FALSE ABORTION CLAIMS
Trump, responding to a question about the U.S. Supreme Court overturning abortion rights last year, took credit for appointing three of the justices who joined in the majority ruling, saying “it was such a great victory and people are starting to understand it now.”
He repeatedly falsely claimed that abortion rights supporters wanted to “kill a baby” in the ninth month of pregnancy or even after a birth. The claim is based on a misleading interpretation of a Senate vote. Trump also dodged questions about whether, if elected president again, he would sign a national abortion ban. Trump instead spoke about the court ruling as having given anti-abortion activists “negotiating ability.”
“What I will do is negotiate so people are happy,” he said, when asked if he would sign a federal abortion ban. He repeatedly said he would “do what’s right,” without specifying what that was.
