CNN Faces Backlash Over Chaotic Meeting With Former President Donald Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN is facing a backlash over its meeting with former President Donald Trump, an event that quickly turned chaotic in a clear demonstration of the tightrope faced by journalists covering a Republican candidate who refuses to go any further. the rules.

Wednesday’s rally was the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign, and CNN defended its decision to hold it as an opportunity to put Trump in front of a broader audience, outside of the conservative media bubble in which he has largely remained. measure since the beginning of his presidency.

Critics said the event, which was staged in front of Republicans and unaffiliated voters expected to vote in the Republican primary, turned into a Trump campaign rally that produced little real news and allowed Trump to repeat his customary falsehoods. while dodging difficult questions.

Tom Jones, a senior writer at the Poynter Institute for Media Research, said he was in favor of the idea of ​​CNN holding the event at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. But he pointed out that he was surprised by the behavior of the public, which he expected to be more neutral.

Instead, the crowd gave Trump a standing ovation when he took the stage, applauding some of his more provocative comments and laughing at many of his jokes, including when he criticized E. Jean Carroll, the advice columnist who accused him of raped her in 1996 and this week won a $5 million judgment against her.

Jones said the atmosphere in the studio left moderator Kaitlan Collins in an almost impossible situation trying to question Trump, and correct his falsehoods about the Capitol storming and about the election, which Trump still insists he won.

“When she had him cornered, he used the public,” Jones said. “That emboldened him. It was in no way her fault. It was her against the whole public.”