“It was certainly disturbing to hear that audience—young and old, our fellow citizens, people who love their kids and go to church—laugh and applaud his lies and his continued defamation of” E. Jean Carroll, Cooper said in what appeared to be critical comments of the audience.
Trump was found liable for battery against Carroll earlier this week in a Manhattan case that the former president said was a witch hunt. Trump also said he doesn’t know Carroll, whom he suggested had mental issues, and had no contact with her.
Cooper continued to criticize the town hall’s New Hampshire audience: “The audience that upset you? That’s a sampling of about half the country. They are your family members, your neighbors and they are voting, and many said they’re voting for him.”
The longtime CNN host, however, said that because there are so many Trump supporters, they cannot be ignored by the mainstream. “That man you were so upset to hear from last night, he may be president of the United States in less than two years. It can happen again, it is happening again. He hasn’t changed and he is running hard,” Cooper said.
Then, Cooper suggestively stated that his viewers should go out and vote, ostensibly for someone other than Trump. “You can actually get involved. You can make a difference, whatever side of the aisle you’re on,” he said, adding that CNN’s viewers “have every right to be angry and never watch this network again.”
While Cooper made entirely derisive comments about Trump’s town hall event, he did not say why any of the former president’s campaign promises would be negative for the United States. He also did not elaborate on any of the so-called falsehoods that the former commander-in-chief allegedly aired during the event.
Also during the program, Cooper defended his network’s choice to air Trump’s town hall amidst widespread left-wing-based criticism against CNN. For example., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a professed democratic socialist, essentially called for the former commander-in-chief to be censored or that the town hall not be held at all.
Multiple prominent CNN employees, including host Jake Tapper, appeared exasperated after the town hall and claimed they needed to “fact-check” Trump after statements he made. A day later, CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy wrote a newsletter in which he explicitly criticized CNN’s management before suggesting there was some kind of internal revolt happening within the channel.
“Many of you think CNN shouldn’t have given him any platform to speak and I understand the anger about that—giving him the audience, the time, I get that,” Cooper said. But he added that “the man you were so disturbed to see and hear from last night—that man is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president.”
“According to polling, no other Republican is even close,” Cooper continued, referring to a number of recent surveys showing the former president ahead by a wide margin over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and others.
“Do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?” he continued. “If we all only listen to those we agree with, it may actually do the opposite,” added Cooper.
A similar message was delivered by CNN executive Chris Licht during a conference call in which he reportedly said that Americans deserve to hear what Trump has to say. In the conference call held a day after the Trump event, Licht, who took over as CEO last year, also praised moderator Kaitlyn Collins.
“I absolutely unequivocally believe America was served very well by what we did last night,” Licht told staff, according to multiple news reports. “While we all may have been uncomfortable hearing people clapping, that was also an important part of the story,” he remarked, adding that people who clapped are “a large swath of America.”
Later on, Licht reportedly stated the media has failed to properly acknowledge those people ahead of the 2016 election, which Trump won.
Perhaps more importantly for CNN, Trump’s town hall was a ratings bonanza, according to Nielsen figures. The normally third-place CNN was first in overall ratings on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., drawing more than 3 million viewers on television alone—one of the highest-rated programs on the struggling network in years.
As for Trump, both he and his allies viewed the town hall as a victory. A number of leading right-wing figures asserted that the former president dominated the event and worked well with the audience.
“Hope everyone enjoyed CNN tonight. The New Hampshire audience was AMAZING. Thank you!” Trump wrote on Truth Social this week.
Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Trump “dominated” the event, while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wrote that she was “so proud” of the former president. “GREAT JOB! He is truly showing everyone why he is the president America needs,” she added.
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