# CNN Town Hall with Donald Trump: May 10, 2023 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 11, 2023, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873 "2023-05-11T00:01:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/101 "2023-05-11T13:43:11Z")
It seems to be an open question whether broadcasting his views alerts more people to the danger of electing him or attracts more adherents to the MAGA cause. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/102 "2023-05-11T13:49:29Z")
Rick Wilson calmly assesses the situation: > ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/103 "2023-05-11T13:50:44Z")
Events like the town hall just confirm voters’ hardened beliefs. Karl Rove has an op-ed over at the Wall St. Journal today contrasting Trump’s purported firm stands on law and order with his support of Jan. 6 rioters, and condemning him for the latter. Naturally the commenters try to divert attention to violence at The Other Side’s rallies, or attack Rove as a RINO or worse. When you’ve convinced yourself that _Karl Rove_ is a progressive shill, you’re long past any hope of retrieval from the abyss. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/104 "2023-05-11T13:53:21Z")
I had no idea this was even happening and, reading just a smattering of comments, I’m glad I’ve been blissfully unaware, and hope to remain so for the rest of the election season. And, yeah, if he gets the nomination again, I’m prepared to believe he could win again. I have no idea why some/many people are acting like he’s unelectable this time around when we saw what happened last time around. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/105 "2023-05-11T13:58:29Z")
This is so much BS. Every time I see his name mentioned I cringe. Stop giving this mf press. Stop giving him a free platform. Effing CNN. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/106 "2023-05-11T14:06:43Z")
First of all, thank you to everyone who watched and reported. There is no way I could have done it. I’m very surprised that the studio audience was all friendlies. I apologized if this was answered and I missed it but was this the actual plan? Was it advertised that way or ever addressed? ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/107 "2023-05-11T14:12:18Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > or she could push back hard, in which case Trump would walk out. That would leave the sponsors very unhappy, which causes management to be very unhappy. Which then causes careers to end. If she had just said “you’re a giant asshole, fuck off” after Trump called her a nasty person right to her face, she’d have instant folk hero status and there is no way in God’s earth her career would be over. The whole thing was a disgusting farce. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/108 "2023-05-11T14:12:45Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I’m very surprised that the studio audience was all friendlies. I apologized if this was answered and I missed it but was this the actual plan? Was it advertised that way or ever addressed? According to [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3999116-five-takeaways-from-trumps-cnn-town-hall/), the audience was intended to be: > [@](#): > > “made up of Republicans and undeclared voters who tend to take part in New Hampshire’s Republican primary,” as Collins put it in her introductory remarks. I mean, _primary_ voters. Of _course_ they were trumpists. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/109 "2023-05-11T14:16:27Z")
I’m willing to bet that Jean Carroll was on the phone to her lawyer first thing this morning asking him to file another defamation lawsuit for “wack job”. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/110 "2023-05-11T14:32:41Z")
> [@Brian Stelter](#): > > “You do not have to like the former president’s answers, but you can’t say that we didn’t get them,” Licht tells staffers, many of whom are angry about the town hall. “Kaitlan pressed him again and again **and made news**. Made a LOT of news.” And **"that is our job.**" > > “While we all may have been uncomfortable hearing people clapping, that was also an important part of the story,” Licht adds, **because those folks represent “a large swath of America,” and the media screwed up by missing that part of the story in 2015/16.** > > Covering Trump is “tricky and messy,” Licht says, and it will “continue to be messy and tricky, but it’s our job.” He confidently says **“America was served very well by what we did last night.”** Many CNN employees strongly disagree. > …the agenda of Licht and the people that now own CNN should now be perfectly clear. They want Trump back. The Dems are _completely_ unprepared for the propaganda onslaught that is coming. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/111 "2023-05-11T14:39:24Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …the agenda of Licht and the people that now own CNN should now be perfectly clear. They want Trump back. That seems clear. “We made a Lot of news” I naievely thought the job of a news station was to report news, not to MAKE news. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/112 "2023-05-11T14:58:12Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I’m very surprised that the studio audience was all friendlies. I apologized if this was answered and I missed it but was this the actual plan? Was it advertised that way or ever addressed? I suspect we’ll never see Trump in front of a non-biased audience ever again. Why would he ever agree to such a plan? He’s the most likely nominee for the Republicans, and doesn’t give a shit about the opinions of anyone who isn’t already a full-on Trumpist. For him, every election appearance will be about firing up the Trumpists, and having non-Trumpists in his audience can only make that harder, and Trump doesn’t do “harder”. So, you either give him the friendly audience, or you don’t get him on your show. Hopefully for the sake of American democracy, everyone starts choosing that second option. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/113 "2023-05-11T15:08:07Z")
Biden to voters, regarding the ~~town hall~~ rally: [“Do you want four more years of _that?_”](https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1656467466145415171) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/114 "2023-05-11T15:25:33Z")
George Conway’s comment on the Biden tweet: “I’m no media expert, but it seems to me that interviewing a narcissistic psychopath in front of a packed house of his flying monkeys is not the best format for television journalism.” ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/115 "2023-05-11T15:34:42Z")
To George I’d say it had to be done as a reminder for those that already knew what a lying sack of shit he is and as an education to those who have lived in the liberal bubble and not actually seen the nastiness of him and his base live and in truly disgusting form. I don’t like looking a pictures and videos of the holocaust either, but it serves as a reminder that evil is real. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/116 "2023-05-11T15:39:03Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > To George I’d say it had to be done as a reminder for those that already knew what a lying sack of shit he is and as an education to those who have lived in the liberal bubble and not actually seen the nastiness of him and his base live and in truly disgusting form. An interesting point and hopefully it has merit. To those who did not watch any of it, just picture any low-life, bullshitting, opinionated bully in a room full of suck-ups (except for Kaitlan). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/117 "2023-05-11T15:41:04Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > That seems clear. “We made a Lot of news” I naievely thought the job of a news station was to report news, not to MAKE news. Fuckin’ a. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/118 "2023-05-11T16:02:29Z")
Exactly. It used to be a journalistic standard to report the news, not be part of it. I guess we can safely say CNN is no longer a journalism outlet. Just more infotainment for ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/119 "2023-05-11T16:04:15Z")
Watching “John King Politics” on CNN this morning. King is analyzing the Trump town hall from last night, and it is not complimentary to Trump. CNN chyron: “Trump repeats election lies, rewrites Jan 6 history in CNN town hall.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873/120 "2023-05-11T16:11:41Z")
Ah, this may shed some light on why CNN held a Trump town hall: King just mentioned that CNN is offering town halls to every credible candidate. So I guess we’ll see more such presentations as time progresses and candidates declare. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-town-hall-with-donald-trump-may-10-2023/983873.md?page=7)