These days, CNN seems to be caught between two adages: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” and “Insanity is when you do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results.”
On Thursday, the network announced that anchor Dana Bash would be hosting a Republican presidential town hall with former Vice President Mike Pence on June 7 in Des Moines, Iowa.
The announcement comes just weeks after the network’s town-hall-style event with former President Donald Trump, which critics blasted as “shameless” and “a disaster,” and which was also criticized by CNN employees, including chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour.
Considering the first town hall didn’t help CNN’s rep and that Pence hasn’t actually officially announced his 2024 presidential candidacy (or criticized Trump for allegedly expressing approval of rioters chanting “Hang Mike Pence” on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol), many Twitter users decided the only reasonable response was mockery. Pure and simple brutal mockery.
Some people wondered if CNN was going to let just anyone have one of these candidate town halls, especially since Pence hasn’t declared. Others joked about the event being called “Hanging Around With Mike Pence.”
One person wondered if the fly that appeared on Pence’s head during the 2020 vice presidential debate would be there for an encore.
And the snark continued…
After Bash said she was “looking forward” to the event, she also got the Twitter treatment from critics, including one who called her a “paid-shill who works for a right wing network that prioritizes ratings and profits over the preservation of our Democracy.”
Others followed suit.
But one person decided to support the CNN town hall: Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who praised Pence for not being “afraid to do events on networks that are not in lock step with his ideology.”
According to RealClearPolitics, Pence is only polling 4.7% among Republicans, with the caveat being that he actually hasn’t declared his candidacy, something that could change before the June 7 town hall.
