Terrible timing of Trump’s town hall on CNN has allies freaking out
For Donald Trump, the initial plan seemed simple.
By agreeing to an exclusive town hall in New Hampshire with his biggest cable news nemesis—CNN—the 2024 Republican frontrunner was poised for a made-for-primetime clash to delight his followers, set off his critics, and suck up the political oxygen in the critical early primary state.
Just over 24 hours before Trump’s scheduled sit-down, however, whatever hopes he had to ambush CNN turned into what one of his former advisers called “walking into a complete ambush.”
That’s because on Tuesday, a Manhattan jury found Trump to be liable for sexually abusing, and then defaming, the writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $5 million in damages.
Trump is almost certain to be asked about the case and the verdict by moderator Kaitlan Collins, who covered his White House for CNN.
“If I were on his communications team, I would be shitting my pants right now,” said the adviser, who held a senior role on Trump’s 2016 campaign and requested anonymity to speak candidly. The verdict, they said, “could not have come at a worse time for them, so I think this thing takes on a whole new dynamic. Majorly.” [Continue reading…]