Former president Donald Trump will take part in a CNN town hall next week, the network said on Monday. Trump’s first CNN show since running for president in 2016 will air tonight.
New Hampshire will be the location for the event on May 10 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. A CNN correspondent named Kaitlan Collins will be in charge of it.
The network reports that Trump will be to St. Anselm College to speak with Republican voters and those still on the fence about how they will cast their ballot in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary.
A Trump adviser told Semafor that Trump agreed to participate in the town hall even though he frequently refers to CNN as “fake news” because “CNN executives made a compelling pitch.” The assistant said that Trump is “running for president because he wants to help all Americans.”
Trump is far ahead of the other Republican contenders in 2024 election polls. Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, is the next in line. He hasn’t come right out and declared he’s running, but his actions suggest otherwise.
After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump has decided to compete for reelection again. Biden revealed last week that he is seeking a second term as vice president. This time around, several high-profile investigations are focused on Trump. In one Manhattan case, he made history by becoming the first ex-president of the United States to face criminal charges.
After Trump criticized the Republican National Committee for selecting Fox News to host the first presidential primary in 2024, some people, including POLITICO, speculated that Trump’s decision to meet with CNN was a “implicit” shot at Fox News.
“Why let yourself be slandered and mistreated when you’re ahead by numbers that seem impossible to beat and hostile networks with angry anchors who hate Trump and MAGA asking the “questions”?” President Trump has updated his Truth Social blog.
Some people are calling for a boycott of CNN because of the network’s decision to host a town hall featuring Trump.
One Washington Post columnist, Philip Bump, remarked, “Wow, it appears like CNN found out how to perform real-time fact-checking. Someone with malicious intent might not be able to make as many unsubstantiated accusations if they know they won’t go unanswered.
Ex-ESPN host and far-left commentator Keith Olbermann tweeted, “Here it is, CNN is committing journalistic suicide: If there was one thing everyone agreed on about 2024, it was that ‘covering’ Trump the way they did in 2016 (giving him live blocks of free airtime with no fact-checking) was irresponsible.”
In a statement, CNN explained why they decided to have a town hall with Trump.
“CNN has a long history of hosting leading presidential candidates for Town Halls and other political events,” the network said. CNN’s extended coverage of the election includes “this major development.” This is the first of several appearances by the former president on CNN in the coming months. CNN reporters will canvass the country in the years leading up to the 2024 presidential election.