Journalists attend a CNN public meeting with former U.S. President and 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump on May 10, 2023 in Manchester, New Hampshire. JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP
Donald Trump does not want a military victory for Ukraine. He’s banking on a US default to embarrass Joe Biden. If re-elected president in 2024, he would pardon many of those convicted for the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, “a great day.” Finally, Donald Trump continues to poke fun at the woman who just received her civil conviction for sexual assault. This is the synopsis of the seventy-minute prime-time program CNN organized with the Republican primary favorite on Wednesday, May 10th.
An unprecedented return to this antenna in seven years to rejoice. No revelations, no surprises, except for one: the station’s complacency despite controversial coverage of two presidential campaigns, the ex-president’s attempted coup after his defeat by Joe Biden, and his always bizarre allegations of voter fraud. CNN gave in to the spectacle and wrapped itself in information. “We thought we were back in 2016,” wrote the station’s own media specialist Oliver Darcy during Donald Trump’s first candidacy.
As soon as the show wrapped, the reviews plummeted. They referred less to the words of the former leader and more to the course of action accepted by the chain. It was a “Town Hall,” a question-and-answer game with an audience this time made up entirely of Donald Trump supporters. All his excesses were welcomed. The rest became secondary: Donald Trump received a long string of self-promotion for free. Although it is unlikely to change the political deal and, above all, moves the small circle of commentators, there is no doubt that the other candidates in the primary campaign would dream of similar treatment.
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Wrong win
To animate, revive and contradict, the broadcaster had chosen its rising star, journalist Kaitlan Collins. She often tried to correct her guest’s lies, but was ultimately buried by his contempt. While Donald Trump called her a “mean person,” the public laughed. “Tonight, Kaitlan Collins embodied what it means to be a world-class journalist,” CNN claimed in a statement.
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Away from the microphone, CNN’s journalists lamented the expected disaster, while management defended the need for pluralism. “This audience that bothered you so much is an example for almost half the country,” said host Anderson Cooper. He conceded that giving up Kaitlan Collins was impossible, but justified the show by citing the contestant’s lead in the polls. “Today you have every reason to be outraged and angry and never watch this channel again. But do you think that if you stay in your silo and only listen to people you agree with, that person will go away? »
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