CNN just helped Trump, says Ben Shapiro.

Trump’s WWE-style CNN Town Hall

Former President Donald Trump appeared on a CNN town hall this week, and he hyped up the event on his social media platforms. He pitched it like a WWE Monday Night Raw, and it was kayfabe of the highest order. CNN invited Republican primary voters from New Hampshire to fill the auditorium, but instead of asking questions that Republican voters cared about, moderator Kaitlin Collins asked a series of questions only Democrats care about. This played right into Trump’s strengths, and he was able to pummel an adversarial CNN foe to the delight of the friendly crowd.

Boosting Trump

Trump under fire from the Left draws nothing but admiration from most Republicans, who constantly feel that they are scurrilously attacked but rarely see a defender willing to go dirty to defend them. Trump defending himself deploys the methodologies they wish Republican politicians would use to defend them. And so, CNN boosted Trump.

Not Bad for CNN

CNN found itself on the wrong end of the outrage machine from the liberal commentariat, but the event was not bad for CNN. As Trump stated, CNN brought in the ratings. What’s more, CNN wants Trump to be the nominee, for both fiscal and political reasons. Trump does indeed mean eyeballs, and eyeballs mean cash. And coincidentally, top Democrats want Trump to be the nominee.

Republican Front-Runner

For now, Trump is the clear front-runner among the Republican candidates. Perhaps his star will dim as he focuses consistently on his own personal Festivus grievances. Or perhaps the media will continue to boost him, providing him with just the adversarial opposition he needs in order to appeal to his base. If the past is any guide, the latter seems far more likely. And then we’ll find out whether the Republican base, which apparently believes in Trump’s electoral invulnerability despite the elections of 2018 and 2020, is correct — or whether the Democratic base and the media, who apparently believe Trump can’t possibly win despite the election of 2016, are mistaken.