CNN comes under attack over NH town hall with Trump

May 10—GOFFSTOWN — CNN came under withering attack Thursday after its televised town hall forum at Saint Anselm College, where former President Donald Trump doubled down on his view the 2020 election was "rigged" and said that if elected he would pardon most arrested during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol.

Media critics and Democratic members of Congress blamed the cable network for allowing the 70-minute forum to devolve into a Trump rally, thanks to an audience packed with supporters who laughed at his jokes and cheered on his sniping confrontations with moderator Kaitlin Collins.

"CNN should be ashamed of themselves," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

"They have lost total control of this 'town hall' to again be manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan. 6th, and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim. The audience is cheering him on and laughing at the host."

A New York Times commentary right after the event concluded, "The audience's regular interruptions on behalf of Mr. Trump were like a laugh track on a sitcom. It built momentum for him in the room — and onscreen for the television audience — and stifled Ms. Collins as she repeatedly tried to interrupt him with facts and correctives."

Trump's estranged niece, Mary Trump, summed up her view with, "CNN is anti-American."

Several media watchers, including political consultant Simon Rosenberg, called on new CNN CEO Chris Licht to resign over the spectacle.

In a phone call Thursday morning, Licht defended the event.

"Kaitlan pressed (Trump) again and again and made news," Licht said according to published reports. "Made a lot of news," and that is CNN's "job," he added.

Many conservative commentators faulted Collins, accusing her of frequently interrupting Trump, often before he finished answering her question.

Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Sununu, a potential 2024 GOP presidential rival, defended Collins, telling CNN after the forum that she was "wonderful" in trying to hold Trump accountable for his lies.

Much of the first 20 minutes focused on whether Trump would admit he lost in 2020 to President Biden.

"I think that, when you look at that result and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you're a very stupid person, you see what happens, a lot of the people ... most people understand what happened, that was a rigged election, and it's a shame that we had to go through it. It's very bad for our country," Trump said.

Trump denied he sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in a luxury New York department store dressing room in 1996 and said his lawyers advised him not to testify during the trial.

A jury on Tuesday awarded Carroll $5 million for sexual battery and defamation, though jurors decided Trump had not raped her.

"They are doing this (suing him) for election interference. This woman, I don't know her. I have never met her. I don't know who she is," Trump said.

"This is a fake story, and you don't want to give it credibility. That's why I didn't go," Trump said adding a short time later that Carroll "is a whack job."

Trump mocked the notion that he would sexually assault a "60-year-old woman" (she was 54) in broad daylight in a department store near a New York luxury hotel that he owned.

"What kind of woman meets somebody, and within minutes you are playing hanky-panky in a dressing room?" Trump said.

Sununu's assessment

Sununu said Trump walked away from every opportunity to reverse his past lies and be more conciliatory.

"There was no energy, there was no fire, there was no positivity," Sununu told CNN. "He looked weak, he looked tired, he looked angry and bitter."

The first question from Scott Dustin, an insurance litigator from Concord, was about the 2020 result.

"Will you suspend polarizing talk of election fraud during that election?" Dustin asked.

"Let's just win it again and straighten out our country," Trump responded.

Other questions were less confrontational, ranging ranging from the battle against illegal immigration, gun owner rights, efforts to address inflation and reductions in federal spending.

Vague on Ukraine support

Trump declined to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win its war with Russia and predicted that upon taking office he could end the war in 24 hours.

"I don't believe in winning or losing. I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people," Trump said.

"I want everyone to stop dying, dying, Russians and Ukrainians."

Trump said European nations need to do more to support Ukraine, as they've sent $20 billion in aid while the U.S. has spent $170 billion.

Moderator Collins spent much of the forum correcting statements Trump made. They included not only election fraud in 2020, his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection, the storing of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and his efforts to build a wall to prevent illegal immigration.

"The election was not rigged, Mr. President," Collins said. "You can't keep saying that all night long."

An hour into the event, Trump fired back at Collins, "You are a nasty person, I will tell you that."

Pardons for rioters

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said Trump failed to win New Hampshire's four electoral votes in 2016 and 2020 and, if he's again the GOP the nominee, he'll lose here in 2024.

"Donald Trump will spin desperate lies about his record during tonight's town hall like he does every time he parachutes into our state, but Granite Staters remember how disastrous his presidency was for New Hampshire," Buckley said in a statement.

"You can be sure Trump won't mention his attempts to rip away our health care access, proposed cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs, paving the way for extreme abortion bans around the country, rigging the economy for the ultra-rich, inciting a violent attack on the Capitol, or undermining our democracy."

Wayne Beyer, a retired North Conway lawyer who served in Republican administrations, asked whether Trump would pardon the Jan. 6 rioters.

"I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can't say for every single one because a couple of them probably got a little bit out of control," Trump answered.

Jordan Sullenberger, a 26-year-old veteran, asked if he disagreed with potential GOP rival and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about his battles with Walt Disney World over gay rights and governance of land surrounding the massive theme park property.

"I am beating DeSanctimonious (DeSantis) by a large amount" in the polls, Trump said, while not addressing the Disney dispute.

"Right now his future is not looking so good."

Undeclared on abortion ban

Julie Miles, a registered nurse from Merrimack, wanted Trump to respond to women concerned about the Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs case overturning Roe vs. Wade and abortion protections for women.

"Getting rid of Roe vs. Wade was an incredible thing for pro-life because it gave them something to negotiate with," Trump said.

Trump repeatedly refused to say whether he would support a federal ban on abortion.

"I am looking at a solution that is going to work, very complex issue for the country," Trump said after the fourth time Collins asked the question.

He urged Republican leaders in Congress to insist on reducing federal spending in order to support a vote to raise the federal debt ceiling.

"If they don't give you massive cuts, you are going to have to give you a default," Trump said, predicting President Joe Biden and congressional Democratic leaders would "blink" and agree to them.'

"We might as well do it (default) now because we will have to do it later. Our country is dying."

klandrigan@unionleader.com