Earlier this week, CNN announced a town hall event with former President Donald Trump. The 45th President will field questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undecided voters in the televised event moderated by CNN This Morning’s Kaitlan Collins. An advisor to the former President said the event was too good to pass up.
“Going outside the traditional Republican ‘comfort zone’ was a key to President Trump’s success in 2016, a Trump adviser told Vanity Fair. “Some other candidates are too afraid to take this step in their quest to defeat Joe Biden and are afraid to do anything other than Fox News. CNN executives made a compelling pitch.”
CNN claims it has approached “every major presidential candidate and potential candidate about participating” in a town hall event.
“The heart of the pitch is that this has been a central part of our campaign coverage, and it’s something we take really seriously and that we really do quite well,” CNN Political Director David Chalian said.
Chalian admitted that Trump is a “unique candidate” not only because of his status as a former President but also due to his recent civil and criminal legal troubles. However, Chalian added that Trump will still be held to CNN’s “typical standard” for accountability.
“The primary focus of a presidential town hall is to have the candidate interact with the voters, and that’s why we convene these things—because we think it’s so important to the process of voters making their choices,” he concluded.
