OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene revealed that she spoke to former President Donald Trump on the phone after his town hall on CNN.
Greene took to Twitter to say that she congratulated the 45th president and that they “laughed and laughed” about the questions and many of his answers.
Greene wrote, “I enjoyed congratulating President Trump on his outstanding town hall and undefeated record against CNN,” Greene said, adding, “We laughed and laughed.”
Throughout the CNN event, MTG shared several clips and praised Trump for his performance.
“President Trump disproves the CNN lie right on stage. Pulls out the receipts! This man is unstoppable!” she tweeted.
She also responded to a tweet from New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had criticized CNN for doing the debate with Trump.
President Trump disproves the CNN lie right on stage. Pulls out the receipts!
This man is unstoppable!pic.twitter.com/xds4T1nxxN
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 11, 2023
You hate free speech and want to control the press.
Your brand is fading, old, unattractive, and stale.
And by the way, Trump won the 2020 election.
I would object to Biden’s electoral votes everyday again and again if I could because they were stolen. https://t.co/nAcwvrTEDe
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 11, 2023
CNN CEO Chris Licht will reportedly announce soon that 31-year-old Kaitlan Collins will take over the network’s 9 PM ET primetime slot, which was previously occupied by Chris Cuomo before he was fired.
“CNN, which has endured some of the worst ratings in its history under Zaz’s hand-picked C.E.O., Chris Licht, is now poised for a brief taste of the same power and influence that it enjoyed in the old days. And it will achieve that massive audience, of course, via the very same mechanism that fueled the Zucker years: Donald Trump,” Puck News reported.
News of Collins’ meteoric rise at CNN comes as she hosted what many are calling a “disastrous” townhall in New Hampshire on Wednesday night with former President Donald Trump.
In a statement, a CNN spokesperson told Mediaite: “Tonight, Kaitlan Collins exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist. She asked tough, fair, and revealing questions. And she followed up and fact-checked President Trump in real time to arm voters with crucial information about his positions as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican frontrunner. That is CNN’s role and responsibility: to get answers and hold the powerful to account.”
Several liberals couldn’t hide their disdain:
I thought this #CNNTownhall with Trump would be bad but it's much worse than I thought it would be.
The lack of follow-ups. The audience on his side. The mocking of a victim of sexual abuse. Sheesh.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) May 11, 2023
Immediate reaction from a CNN on-air personality to me just now on this Trump town hall: "It is so bad. I was cautiously optimistic despite the criticism. It is awful. It's a Trump infomercial. We're going to get crushed."
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 11, 2023
CNN's not "staring it the face," they're platforming an insurrectionist con man and serjal sexual abuser with a "fact checker" completely out of her depth being the only thing standing between his lies and an easily manipulated audience
— Karl Bode (@KarlBode) May 11, 2023
Below are just a few examples of Trump hitting back at Collins and firing up the crowd during the town hall:
Trump SLAMS CNN host to her face:
"You're a nasty person."pic.twitter.com/JGYM89KRjP
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) May 11, 2023
President Trump on open borders Democrats 🔥🔥
"These people are sick. Anybody that wants this to happen to our country, they’re destroying our country, and this should not be allowed to happen."pic.twitter.com/5e1I1nKmt5
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) May 11, 2023
Trump gets a standing ovation from a New Hampshire crowd live on CNN.pic.twitter.com/GrYmfoHUOz
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) May 11, 2023
Donald Trump says he will pardon a “large portion” of J6 protesterspic.twitter.com/eR8ijniuDU
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) May 11, 2023
Trump issued an ominous warning ahead of the CNN town hall, writing on his Truth Social account about how it could have been a “disaster.”
“I’ll be doing CNN tomorrow night, LIVE from the Great State of New Hampshire, because they are rightfully desperate to get those fantastic (TRUMP!) ratings once again. They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse!!! Could be the beginning of a New & Vibrant CNN, with no more Fake News, or it could turn into a disaster for all, including me. Let’s see what happens? Wednesday Night at 8:00!!!” he said.
There were many liberals who were furious with CNN for hosting Trump. Still, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav defended the decision when he appeared on the CNBC show “Squawk Box” and spoke to Joe Kernan.
“Because I want to talk about CNN and I want to talk about the cable news wars and what former President Trump is going to be on CNN?” the host said.
“Yeah, he should be,” the CEO said.
“You should be. You know, you’ve already gotten criticism. Remember what John Malone said. Let’s get some real journalists. Now you try to get some real journalists and you’re getting hit by CNN for getting rid of them,” the host said.
“CNN has the world’s greatest journalists and the largest group of journalists in Ukraine, Poland, and Russia. We have over 86 people on the ground. We’re not reporting from a desk,” the CEO said.
“Do you see an opportunity, given what happened at some of your competitors?” the host said, a reference possibly to Fox News host Tucker Carlson being axed at Fox News.
“We have a divided government. Right? We need to hear both voices. That’s what you see. Republicans are on the air on CNN, Democrats are on the air. All voices should be heard,” the CEO said.
