Chris Lange, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
Sparks flew as former President Donald Trump sparred with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins at the network’s town hall Wednesday evening.
Among a few of the highlights was Trump’s reference to rape accuser Jean Carroll as a “whack job” a day after a jury found him liable for sexual battery and defamation in a civil trial. He also refused to back down from his “rigged” 2020 election claims and said he would probably pardon a majority of the January 6 defendants if he were elected to serve a second term.
Trump treated his supporters — and no doubt antagonized his critics — with his signature campaign-trail style mixture of combativeness and humor during the event held at St. Anselm College in the battleground state of New Hampshire. The former president clapped back at Collins’s repeated refrains of “that’s not accurate.” In one heated exchange between guest and host, Collins insisted that Trump’s mishandling of classified materials was completely different from President Joe Biden’s improper retention of top-secret documents.
“You’re a nasty person, I’ll tell ya,” Trump observed, drawing cheers from the audience of Republican and undeclared voters.
Collins also pressed the former president on his widely panned 2020 election fraud claims, though he refused to back down. Trump said that his claims go beyond voting discrepancies, noting the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story which included a controversial letter signed by 51 former intelligence officers declaring it to be Russian disinformation.
He also stood by his actions leading up to and during the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. At one point, he produced what the Daily Wire said appeared to be screenshots of tweets he posted at the time, apparently as proof that his conduct was appropriate.
TRUMP MAINTAINS HE NEVER MET ACCUSER CARROLL
On the subject of Carroll, Trump doubled down on his insistence that he had never even met the woman who said that he raped her in a luxury Manhattan department store dressing room in 1996.
“This is a fake story, made-up story,” Trump said. “I have no idea who the hell she is. She’s a whack job. What kind of a woman meets somebody and brings them up and within minutes you’re playing hanky panky in a dressing room,” he asked, prompting more laughter from the audience.
While much of Collins’s questions focused on Trump’s sundry controversies and legal battles, talk eventually turned to 2024.
Trump reasserted his promises to end the chaos at the southern border, protect the Second Amendment, and restore U.S. energy independence. In typical Trumpian fashion, the former president said that he would bring Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin together for talks to end the war in Europe, adding, “And I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”
CHEERS AND JEERS FOR TRUMP
Trump’s agreement to appear on CNN surprised many, given his rancorous relationship with the network he referred to throughout his presidency as “fake news.” The former president said CNN “made me a deal I couldn’t refuse” in a post on his Truth Social account.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fired off an apoplectic Twitter post during the town hall, slamming the liberal network for “platforming election disinformation.”
“CNN should be ashamed of themselves,” she wrote, expressing particular ire over the fact that audience members were “cheering [Trump] on and laughing at the host.”
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) joined others on Truth Social in congratulating Trump on the town hall.
“President Trump dominated CNN tonight,” Biggs wrote. “He remains America’s leader.”
“Trump is once again proving he’s the ONLY choice for 2024,” Republican Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson declared. “Nobody can compete with him. He made America great again once, and he has the plan to do it AGAIN. TRUMP 2024!!”
For his part, the 45th U.S. president wrote: “Hope everyone enjoyed CNN tonight. The New Hampshire audience was AMAZING. Thank you!”
This article was partially informed by Daily Wire, The Hill, and Post Millennial reports.