Trump argues with CNN anchor about election claims and documents during town hall.

Former President Trump Returns to CNN for Town Hall

Former President Donald Trump made a return to CNN for the first time since the 2016 campaign with a town hall event at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, an early-voting state. The event was marked by sparks flying as anchor Kaitlan Collins repeatedly pushed back on what Trump said, showing a scrappy fighter refusing to back down from a challenge.

Trump Stands His Ground

Though Trump was introduced as the Republican 2024 primary frontrunner, the questions he faced for the first 25 minutes looked backward, probing Trump on his “rigged” 2020 election claims, various controversies and legal challenges he faces, and writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit accusing Trump of rape. Trump stood his ground on all fronts.

• Trump explained his view that his loss to President Joe Biden in 2020 was a result of a number of converging factors working against him, not limited to voter fraud concerns, but also the roles played by social media and the controversial letter signed by 51 intelligence veterans casting doubt upon the Hunter Biden laptop story.
• Trump went on to defend his conduct in the events surrounding the U.S. Capitol breach, bringing out what appeared to be screenshots of his own tweets to make his case, and said he would likely pardon a large portion of the January 6 defendants.
• The former president denied knowing Carroll just one day after a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her, but not liable for rape. “She’s a whack job,” Trump said of Carroll.

Trump on the Issues

The town hall eventually got to the issues. Trump made familiar assertions about protecting the Second Amendment, energy policy, and keeping the southern border secure. He also predicted Democrats will “absolutely cave” in the ongoing debt ceiling fight.

• Trump said he would secure peace by bringing together Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for talks. “Russians and Ukrainians, I want them to stop dying,” Trump said. “And I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”
• Trump took credit for molding a conservative-majority Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade last year, but declined to make any commitments to signing a federal ban on abortion. “Pro-life people are in a strong position to make a deal that’s going to be good and going to be satisfactory for them,” he said.
• While Trump put Biden on blast throughout the event on a host of hot-button issues, including the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, he barely waded into GOP primary politics. Trump did so near the end, noting that polls show him leading Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “by a lot.”

CNN Faces Boycott Calls

CNN faced calls for a boycott over its decision to host Trump for a town hall. A number of people have criticized CNN, including one of its own analysts, former D.C. Metro Police officer Michael Fanone, who wrote an op-ed for Rolling Stone condemning the network for hosting the “guy who tried to get me killed” — a reference to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

A statement from CNN explained why the network set up a town hall with Trump.

“CNN has a longstanding tradition of hosting leading presidential candidates for Town Halls and political events as a critical component of the network’s robust campaign coverage,” the network said. “This event with former President Trump will be the first of many for CNN in the coming months as CNN correspondents travel across the country to hear directly from voters in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.”