CNN chairman defends decision to host Trump Town Hall

CNN Chairman Chris Licht on Thursday strongly defended his decision to broadcast a live town hall featuring former President Donald J. Trump, an unruly and at times baffling event that has drawn criticism inside and outside the network.

During a network-wide editorial appeal, Mr. Licht congratulated the moderator, Kaitlan Collins, on “a masterful performance” before acknowledging the public reaction. “We all know it’s messy and tricky covering for Donald Trump, and it will continue to be messy and tricky, but it’s our job,” said Mr. Licht, according to a recording of the phone call obtained by The New York Times .

“I absolutely and unequivocally believe that America has been very well served by what we did last night,” Mr. Licht added. “People woke up and they know what is at stake in this election in a way they didn’t know the day before. And if someone were to ask awkward questions and have that messy conversation, damn well it should be on CNN.

At City Hall, which aired in prime time on Wednesday, Mr. Trump launched a fusillade of untruths, sometimes too fast for the moderator to catch. It was a preview of what American journalism can expect from a 2024 campaign featuring the former president, who despite his ubiquity in political life has rarely appeared on mainstream TV outside of Fox News since his departure.

If the 2016 campaign showed that many Americans couldn’t agree on common facts, the Babel-esque nature of Wednesday’s New Hampshire town hall suggested that voters now occupy vastly different universes. Mr. Trump repeated a web of conspiracies about a stolen election and the “nice day” of the uprising at the Capitol, language that would likely confuse half the viewing public and resonate as gospel with the rest.

“The election was not rigged, Mr. President,” Ms. Collins said at one point. “You can’t keep saying that all night.” (He kept saying it.)

The live audience, a group of Republicans and Republican independent voters, often cheered him on, even as he mocked Mrs. Collins as an “annoying person.”

“While we may all have been uncomfortable hearing people clapping, that was also an important part of the story,” said Mr. Light Thursday, “because the people in that audience represent much of America. And the mistake the media has made in the past is to ignore that those people exist. Just like you can’t ignore that President Trump exists.”

Critics said it was reckless of the network to provide Mr. Trump with a live forum given his track record of spreading disinformation. Even the network’s own commentators seemed surprised by what had happened on air. “We don’t have enough time to fact-check every lie he told,” Jake Tapper told viewers Wednesday night.

City Hall was viewed by 3.3 million people, according to Nielsen, a significant increase from CNN’s typical audience on an average weeknight at 8 p.m. 3.2 million people in the first three months of the year.

Mr. Licht, who took over CNN last year after the network was acquired by Warner Bros. Discovery, has had a difficult tenure, and some journalists there were outraged by his public comments that the network had slipped too far into an anti-Trump stance. when Mr. Trump was in the White House. Mr. Licht has said CNN should appeal to more centrists and conservative voters, a strategy supported by his superiors.

There were signs Thursday that frustration was bubbling up within CNN over City Hall. The network’s own media newsletter, “Reliable Sources,” published a harsh assessment after the event, noting, “It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired Wednesday night on CNN.”

The newsletter cited several social media posts critical of the forum, including some who criticized the network for adopting a town hall-style format where voters were free to applaud Mr. Trump and berate Ms. Collins, the moderator.

CNN said it selected audience members the same way it did for previous candidate forums. A networking team traveled to New Hampshire and coordinated with community groups, faith-based organizations, local Republican officials, and the Saint Anselm College student government, which organized the event.

CNN said it intended to fill the room with citizens representing a range of conservative views, but the network declined to identify specific groups it consulted, saying it didn’t want activists to try to abuse the system at future events.

In keeping with previous networking practices, the Trump campaign received invitations for about 20 guests to attend town hall, though these guests were not allowed to ask questions of the candidate. Saint Anselm College officials were allowed to invite about 70 people. The total audience was 300 to 350 people.

In the days leading up to City Hall, Ms. Collins prepared extensively with the team in New Hampshire, according to a person familiar with the case, and discussed possible untruths that Mr. Trump might utter on stage. Mr. Licht provided feedback and Mr. Trump was played in mock debates by Mark Preston, CNN’s vice president of political and special event programming,

Mr. Licht’s decision to select Ms. Collins for the high-profile assignment underscored her rising prominence as an on-air anchor at CNN. The network is finalizing a multi-year contract with Ms. Collins that will see her become the anchor of CNN’s currently vacant 9 p.m., according to three people with call savvy. That hour is a critical timeslot for advertisers, and Ms. Collins’ recent tryout in that timeslot last month received favorable reviews.

Puk previously reported that Ms. Collins was approaching a deal with CNN.

Ms. Collins’ deal, combined with the recent firing of CNN’s Don Lemon, means the network will have to adjust its morning show. The network is looking for new co-hosts to work with Poppy Harlow, Ms. Collins’ co-anchor on “CNN This Morning.”

Some CNN critics had claimed that the network shut down the Trump event early, which ended around 9:10 p.m. In fact, the event was always planned to last about an hour, with a panel of analysts ready in a studio to take over. coverage at the beginning of the 9 pm.