Why CNN Gave Trump a Prime-Time Town Hall—And Why Trump Accepted

News that CNN will hold a town hall with former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire next Wednesday came as a surprise on multiple fronts. For one, Trump, who repeatedly dismissed CNN (among several other outlets) as “fake news” throughout his presidency, has not done an interview with the network since his 2016 presidential campaign. Plus, it’s a risky move for CNN, given the challenge of responsibly platforming the twice-impeached, indicted, insurrection-inciting former president. Trump still refuses to accept the results of the election he lost nearly two and a half years ago to Joe Biden, which begs the question: Does CNN plan to fact-check Trump in real time? What happens if Trump repeats the lie that the 2020 election was “rigged,” as he did just last week from the rally stage? I put such questions to CNN political director David Chalian on Tuesday, as the network prepares its program.

“We obviously can’t control what Donald Trump says—that’s up to him,” said Chalian. “What we can do is prod, ask questions, follow up, and try to get as revealing answers as possible.” Chalian added that it’s “not new for CNN journalists to question Donald Trump” (though he didn’t specify whether this would take the form of a live fact-check). Ultimately, it’s CNN’s view that while Trump is “a unique candidate,” who “since being president has a series of investigations around him”—and “there was how he left the presidency,” Chalian also noted, ostensibly referencing the January 6 insurrection—the network is going to treat him like any other presidential candidate. While “all of that context makes him a unique candidate,” it “does not make our approach any different, in the sense that we hold every candidate who comes to CNN accountable for their words,” Chalian said. He added that CNN has approached every major presidential candidate and potential candidate about participating in CNN’s coverage—the presidential town hall being a part of that.

Moderators will be coming in with follow-up questions, which Chalian said is part of CNN’s “typical standard” for holding candidates accountable. “But 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 said. 

Trump’s appearance on CNN signals a shift in the former president’s campaign strategy heading into 2024. Per Politico, those in Trump’s orbit “believe that by giving interviews and access to mainstream outlets, they can broaden Trump’s message—and create a contrast with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.” The Trump team has reportedly “been in talks with sit-downs with several other notable outlets, including NBC.” (NBC also got a spot on Trump’s campaign plane recently, though it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing: I recently reported how Trump tossed NBC reporter Vaughn Hillyard’s phones during a tirade on the plane home from a March rally.) DeSantis, Trump’s biggest rival, who has yet to officially announce a presidential run, has mostly ignored mainstream news organizations, giving access instead to a handful of conservative outlets, from Fox News to fringe publications. 

“Going outside the traditional Republican ‘comfort zone’ was a key to President Trump’s success in 2016. 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,” a Trump adviser told Vanity Fair. “CNN executives made a compelling pitch.”

Chalian would not get into specifics about what that pitch was, but suggested it was no different than the one CNN has made to other candidates. “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,” he said.

The town hall will be moderated by Kaitlan Collins and feature questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the GOP presidential primary. Questions from voters will go through a “thorough vetting process,” Chalian said. “We want to make sure that everything being asked is factually accurate and on a topic that seems widely of interest,” he added, though questions won’t be tweaked. “It’s entirely a question that is written by the questioner and submitted by them.”

Collins, a fast-rising star at the network, covered the Trump White House and has a reputation as a tough interviewer—one she’s continued to cement in her current role as a cohost on CNN This Morning. But this will be a particularly difficult one to get right; she has to engage with someone who is both a violence-inciting liar and the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. 

However it pans out, the prime-time event is sure to bring eyes to CNN at 8 PM. CNN’s viewership has dwindled amid its attempt to reinvent itself following Trump’s presidency and under the new leadership of CEO Chris Licht. Part of that reset has involved turning down the decibel levels from the Jeff Zucker years by moving into what can be perceived as politically neutral territory.