CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins has faced significant backlash from liberal critics following her 2023 town hall with former President Donald Trump. During a recent interview on comedian Hasan Minhaj’s podcast, Collins defended the event, asserting that her role as a journalist is to report on the political realities surrounding Trump’s potential 2024 presidential bid rather than to ‘take him down.’ She emphasized that the town hall mirrored Trump’s ongoing political relevance, noting that the audience’s reactions were indicative of the broader political landscape.
Despite the controversy, Collins insisted that the town hall was structured similarly to other CNN presidential town halls, with Trump clearly preparing to run for office again. She faced sharp criticism from figures like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who accused CNN of ‘disgusting’ the event and called for the network to be ‘ashamed of themselves.’ Internally, CNN staff also reportedly felt the event was reminiscent of the 2016 election cycle, prompting a sense of ‘fury’ among some employees.
Collins maintained that her focus was on fact-checking and challenging Trump’s claims, rather than entertaining a political narrative. She argued that the event ‘foreshadowed’ the 2024 election, with audience reactions aligning with the eventual outcomes of the Republican primary and the general election. During the town hall, Trump directly attacked Collins, calling her a ‘nasty person’ to the cheers of his supporters, underscoring the contentious nature of their exchange.
In a 2024 Elle magazine interview, Collins reiterated her stance, stating that Trump would have received attention regardless of CNN’s involvement. She framed the town hall as a necessary journalistic effort to cover a major political figure, emphasizing the importance of reporting on the political discourse without editorial bias. Collins’ comments reflect a broader tension within media outlets between maintaining objective reporting and engaging with politically charged content that may provoke significant public debate.