CNN’s Kaitlan Collins called the network’s town hall with former President Trump, which she hosted in New Hampshire on Wednesday, a “major inflection point” ahead of the 2024 Republican primary.
“About last night: The 70 minutes I spent on stage in New Hampshire with former President Donald Trump was a major inflection point in the Republican party’s search for its nominee, and potentially the starting line for America’s next presidential race,” Collins said Thursday on CNN’s
“Primetime.”
Collins added it’s “important to remember” that Trump is the current GOP frontrunner, even though he’s running the 2024 race “while being criminally indicted, found civilly liable and under investigation for everything from his handling of classified documents to his business empire.”
Some had raised concerns ahead of the CNN town hall about airing the event live and giving the controversial former president the airtime — and the network came under fire in the aftermath following Trump’s on-air remarks, which included him repeating debunked claims about widespread election fraud during his 2020 race.
The former president during the town hall refused to rescind his assertions that the 2020 election was rigged and refused to commit to accepting the 2024 results.
He also dissed Collins as she questioned him and attacked writer E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse against her in a federal lawsuit earlier in the week.
Trump, who lost his reelection bid to President Biden in 2020, kicked off his 2024 race just after the midterms last year. He’s been leading in polls on a hypothetical GOP primary, setting up a possible rematch with Biden, who announced last month that he’s running for another four years in the White House.