Former President Donald Trump spoke at CNN’s town hall on Wednesday, his first appearance on the cable network since 2016… and it left Democrats furious.
Predictably, the far Left slammed the network for giving airtime to Trump. In particular, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., had something to say about it.
Oncologists Are Freaking Out After A Cause Of Cancer Is Revealed [sponsored]
“CNN should be ashamed of themselves,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “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 congresswoman claimed, “They put a sexual abuse victim in harm’s way for views.”
Ocasio-Cortez was referring to the writer E. Jean Carroll, the victor of a recent case finding Trump liable for sexual assault — not rape, which Carroll had claimed. Ocasio-Cortez declined to elaborate on the town hall’s “harmful” effect on Carroll.
Since the 2016 campaign, Democrats and other media figures have criticized CNN for giving Trump, the leading Republican Party candidate, too much coverage.
For example, MSNBC host Chris Hayes said just last week, “I find it very hard to defend the choice to give him a live platform, no matter how it is dressed up,” Hayes said last week on “All in with Chris Hayes.”
Take a look —
This falls squarely on CNN. Everyone here saw exactly what was going to happen. Instead they put a sexual abuse victim in harm’s way for views. This was a choice to platform lies about the election & Jan 6th w/ no plan but to have their moderator interrupted without consequence.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 11, 2023
solely from a "news" perspective, it's a very old shtick! it's gone from man bites dog to dog bites man over the course of 8 years. https://t.co/kVifummsmj
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 11, 2023
CNN’s spokespeople have defended the network’s decision to host Trump… but some individual employees are still criticizing the decision.
Some CNN personalities have attacked their employer for “platforming” the former president.
Sponsored: Did You Know This About Coffee?
“CNN and new network boss Chris Licht are facing a fury of criticism — both internally and externally over the event,” Oliver Darcy, CNN’s senior media reporter, reportedly said in a newsletter. “CNN aired it all. On and on it went. It felt like 2016 all over again. It was Trump’s unhinged social media feed brought to life on stage.”
Some CNN employees have accused moderator Kaitlan Collins of losing control during the interview.
Even Jake Tapper, one of the network’s biggest stars, slammed Collins.
“It was an interesting night. Mr. Trump’s first lie was told just seconds into the night,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper reportedly said. “And the falsehoods kept coming, fast and furious, about the January 6 insurrection, about the threat to Vice President Pence, about Pence’s ability to overturn the election, about Covid, about the economy, and more.”
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., encouraged Collins to think long and hard about the mission of a moderator. “Town halls are for the voters, not for the press or the person who is the moderator,” Donalds on CNN after the event. “Kaitlan spent more time interjecting her own viewpoints.”
[6-hour stunner!] Memory improved in less than a day? [sponsored]
Take a look —
Wow. Rep. Byron Donalds fires back at CNN over the Trump town hall.
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 11, 2023
The Horn editorial team