Donald Trump 's highly anticipated first appearance on CNN since 2016 did not disappoint. The former president showed his most feisty profile on CNN town hall and turned the program into a rally, despite attempts by the host, Kaitlan Collins - whom Trump ended up calling "nasty" - to steer the program towards the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. The candidate had time to qualify the verdict that found him guilty of sexual abuse and defamation about Jean Carroll as "rigged deal"calling the columnist herself a "crackpot," pledging to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, criticizing the work of Joe Bidenattacking Ron DeSantis and to be in favor of pardoning "the majority" of those convicted on January 6.
The 2024 presidential campaign is only beginning, but former President Donald Trump made clear that his third bid for the White House will feel very much like the first two.
Here are some takeaways from CNN’s Trump town hall. https://t.co/RNaROpoRxN
— CNN (@CNN) May 11, 2023
Trump denounces different treatment of him by the judiciary
Trump lashed out at the New York jury's decision finding Jean Carroll guilty of sexual abuse and defamation, which he called a "rigged settlement." The former president insisted again that he does not know "that woman" and that everything is "a false story, an invented story". The current front-runner in the polls to represent the Conservatives in the next presidential election went so far as to call the writer a "crackpot".
Collins tried to steer the interview back to the subject of classified documents found during the FBI search of his home, which earned her a "nasty" description from the former president. On the matter, Trump again insisted that he had "every right to [tomar los registros] under the Presidential Records Act." He also criticized the fact that only his mansion was searched, and not those of Biden or Pence, where it was also known that there was confidential information.
The former president repeated election lies, wouldn't say if he wants Ukraine to win the war, and was asked about a federal abortion ban and the debt limit.
Here are the key moments from CNN's Trump town hall. https://t.co/PIziYaB7Rb
📸: Will Lanzoni/CNN pic.twitter.com/EvhmQ5yNNR
— CNN (@CNN) May 11, 2023
Trump insists on "rigged elections" in 2020
Trump again pointed out that he was defeated by Biden in "a rigged election. I think when you look at that result and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you're a very stupid person, you see what happens." On January 6, Trump stressed that he does not believe Mike Pence is owed an apology because he "made a mistake" in handling the election results. The former president also said he was in favor of pardoning "most" of those convicted of the acts on Capitol Hill that day.
Pressed by CNN's @kaitlancollins in a New Hampshire town hall, former President Donald Trump again refuses to concede that he lost the 2020 election and repeats his false claims about election fraud.
Follow live updates and watch now. https://t.co/prGSnWv2ZL pic.twitter.com/KXAqTktWzE
— CNN (@CNN) May 11, 2023
Biden criticized over immigration crisis and economy
The former president was critical of his successor's work as head of the federal government, especially his management of the economy and the border. On the possibility of the US incurring the first Default in its history, Trump denounced that the country is"spending money like drunken sailors" and "is being destroyed by stupid people, by very stupid people."
Trump noted that the day of the end of Title 42 will be "the Day of Infamy"and that, according to their calculations, pup to 15 million irregular immigrants can enter the countryHe said that separating families could be a deterrent to many who try to enter the country without papers.
Desantis' future "does not look good".
He also had time to address international current affairs, stressing that he would end the war in Ukraine "within 24 hours." "If I am president, I will solve that war in one day, in 24 hours," he said, although he did not explain how he would do it. Trump also refused to call Vladimir Putin a "war criminal", claiming that "this should not be discussed now. It should be discussed later. Because now we have to stop a war - if you say he's a war criminal it's going to be much harder to come to an agreement."
Near the end, Trump remembered DeSantis, his main rival for the nomination as the GOP candidate according to polls despite the fact that he has not yet confirmed his participation. According to the ex-president, the Florida governor "should relax and take it easy and think about the future. Because right now their future doesn't look very good."
Criticism of CNN
The interview provoked angry reactions among Democrats, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who went so far as to point out that CNN had gotten out of hand with the interview by allowing Trump to give a rally and garner support from the audience and program attendees.
CNN should be ashamed of themselves.
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 audience is cheering him on and laughing at the host.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 11, 2023
