Trump's Team Used a Secret Weapon During CNN Town Hall Commercial Break: Report
Former President Donald Trump’s advisers used Twitter to gauge his performance in real-time as he faced off against hostile CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins last week, a report claimed.
During Wednesday’s town hall event in New Hampshire, Axios reported, Trump was shown tweets that indicated there was an overwhelming sentiment Collins had failed to hurt him with her interruptions and loaded questions during the break.
Trump then doubled down on his approach to ignore her attempted hit job and instead focused on connecting with the audience.
A Trump adviser told the outlet that Twitter helped the former president walk away from the evening in a better position politically.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized CNN and went after Collins on Twitter.
The far-left “squad” member appeared displeased after Collins tried to use an accusation from former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll that she was raped by Trump in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s to harm him.
Trump has maintained he does not know Carroll.
In her civil suit against Trump last week, a New York jury found no merit to the rape claim but did award Carroll $5 million after jurors ruled Trump was liable for defamation and battery.
When Collins used the ruling against him, Trump dismissed Carroll’s claims and questioned her character.
“I have no idea who the hell she is,” he said in one comment that was met with laughter from the crowd.
Ocasio-Cortez posted, “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,” she added. “The audience is cheering him on and laughing at the host.”
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
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang also posted about the town hall.
“This #CNNTownhall is shaping up to be a clear win for Trump, certainly in the Republican field and probably overall,” Yang wrote.
This #CNNTownhall is shaping up to be a clear win for Trump, certainly in the Republican field and probably overall.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) May 11, 2023
Trump was shown both tweets and others, which were seen as a measure of his performance by his advisers. They suggested he needed to double down on his strategy, and he did so.
One happy Trump adviser reportedly told Axios of the town hall, “He was the leader of the free world again.”
Axios reported that Trump is now in talks with other networks about sitting down for interviews and town halls.
CORRECTION, May 15, 2023: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized CNN on Twitter. An earlier version of this article gave a different account.
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