Combative Trump refuses to accept election defeat, mocks sexual abuse victim
A combative Donald Trump made a rare live appearance on CNN on Wednesday, repeating his false claims about the 2020 election, hurling insults and mocking a former magazine columnist he was...
2023-05-11 11:20
Five key takeaways from CNN’s ‘irresponsible’ town hall with Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump made his first live CNN appearance since 2016 on Wednesday as he sat down with the network’s Kaitlan Collins in the early GOP primary state of New Hampshire. What transpired over the nearly 90-minute broadcast was almost nostalgia-evoking as Collins was largely unable to make fact checks of the former president stick amid a seemingly unending cascade of lies put forward by an unrepentant Mr Trump. Let’s take a look at exactly why Wednesday’s return to mainstream cable news by the former president was so significant, and why CNN was facing ridicule on all sides before the evening ended: Trump steamrolls Collins Kaitlan Collins made a serious attempt to make sure that the truth got as much airtime as Donald Trump’s falsehoods during her moderation of the event on Wednesday, but sometimes a serious attempt still falls flat. That’s what happens when a journalist is set up to fail by their network; Collins, battling a raucous crowd that appeared to be almost exclusively in the former president’s corner, was often overshadowed by cheers and jeers as she attempted to shoehorn in last-second corrections after Mr Trump’s various spiels. She also found herself with no backup from the control room or CNN’s production team in general, who left her without any way to pull up examples of factual information, statements by Trump appointees, and other useful bits of media that would have greatly aided her fact-checking endeavors. As a result, the town hall at many times resembled the first Joe Biden-Donald Trump debate of the 2020 cycle, when moderators were sharply criticised for allowing Mr Trump to constantly talk over his opponent. By the end, the CNN host had been labeled a “nasty person” by Mr Trump on her own network while his supporters roared their approval. The production was roundly criticised by other journalists and by Democrats especially as the interview continued, with Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling the programme “irresponsible”. Trump steamrolls the truth, too There seemed to be no end to the whitewashing which Mr Trump engaged in Wednesday evening. He called the deadly January 6 attack a “beautiful day”, his supporters supposedly throwing themselves against police barricades and shields with “love” in their hearts. He repeated his long-debunked conspiracies about 2020, despite Collins’s reminder that he had failed to prove any of his claims in court (no mention by the CNN host that Mr Trump’s own lawyer had admitted to not having any evidence). He even lied about supposedly issuing an order to deploy thousands of troops on January 6, an order his own defence chief later testified never came. E Jean Carroll faces furious attacks and an accusation of racism from Trump The former president made no secret of his displeasure regarding a New York jury’s decision this week to find him liable for sexual abuse in the case brought by author E Jean Carroll. He repeatedly denounced her as someone he had supposedly never met, while accusing her of calling her own husband a word with racist connotations. Little of this was “fact-checked” by CNN; Collins instead asked him if he regretted not testifying in the trial himself. Mr Trump described Ms Carroll’s lawsuit as “election interference” — despite the election being more than a year away. The Access Hollywood tape returns In easily the most surreal moment of the night, Mr Trump gave perhaps his longest philosophical defence yet of his infamous “grab ‘em by the p****” comment. That remark, which surfaced in the fall of 2016 just weeks before voters elected him to the White House for four years, was made during a conversation on the set of an Access Hollywood taping. It would go on to haunt Mr Trump long afterwards. But on Wednesday, Mr Trump went into excruciating detail about that comment: He wasn’t talking about his own personal behaviour, he claimed, nor was he talking (supposedly) about non-consensual encounters. Instead, the former US president argued, he was merely making an observation about the power of money and how rich men use it to attract women, albeit in the crudest possible manner. Whether that explanation was believable is another story entirely, but it was nonetheless remarkable to hear out loud. Trump cheers default as debt ceiling deadline looms The ex-president gave a hefty piece of ammunition to his furthest-right allies in the US House of Representatives as he talked about the economy on Wednesday. Asked by Collins about the GOP’s debt ceiling negotiation strategy on Capitol Hill, Mr Trump responded that Republicans may need to force the US to default on its loan obligations in order to rein in spending. And he made the bizarre prediction that such a decision may not have real negative effects, calling the possible economic catastrophe nothing but “psychological” problems. "We have to start paying off debt ... I say to the Republicans out there — congressmen, senators — if they don’t give you massive cuts, you’re going to have to do a default, and I don’t believe they’re going to do a default because I think the Democrats will absolutely cave because you don’t want to have that happen, but it’s better than what we’re doing right now because we’re spending money like drunken sailors,” he told CNN. Expect Republicans to hunker down and be more willing to risk passing the 1 June deadline after which the federal government may be unable to pay obligations to its creditors with the former president’s encouragement, knowing that their party enjoys only a slim majority in the House. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement Trump snaps and calls Kaitlan Collins ‘nasty’ in tense exchange at CNN town hall LOCALIZE IT: Migrants adapt to shift in border enforcement AOC blasts CNN’s Trump town hall as she brands it ‘shameful’
2023-05-11 11:15
Trump plays down consequences of a US default: 'Could be maybe nothing'
By Tim Reid Republican former President Donald Trump on Wednesday played down the severity of a potential U.S.
2023-05-11 11:00
Trump talks Ukraine and pardoning Capitol rioters in CNN townhall
The ex-president rehashed the 2020 race and suggested a default debt ceiling ultimatum in the TV event.
2023-05-11 10:58
Takeaways from Trump on CNN: Lies about abortion, election, sexual abuse verdict
Donald Trump’s primetime return to CNN Wednesday for the first time since 2016 felt like a throwback: Trump gave long, twisting answers
2023-05-11 10:53
‘Shameful’: AOC blasts CNN’s controversial Trump town hall
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted CNN’s controversial Donald Trump town hall as “shameful” as the former president used the live event to push “rigged” election lies and baseless conspiracy theories. “CNN should be ashamed of themselves. They have lost total control of this ‘town hall’ to again be manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan 6th, and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim,” the Democratic lawmaker from New York tweeted. “The audience is cheering him on and laughing at the host. This falls squarely on CNN. Everyone here saw exactly what was going to happen. “Instead they put a sexual abuse victim in harm’s way for views. This was a choice to platform lies about the election & Jan 6th w/ no plan but to have their moderator interrupted without consequence.” The event took place in front of an audience of 400 Republican and GOP-leaning independent voters in New Hampshire on Wednesday night. Ms Ocasio-Cortez then went on MSNBC where she criticised CNN for allowing Mr Trump to criticise the $5m E Jean Carroll sexual abuse verdict against him. “I know you said earlier that you will not comment on the platforming of such atrocious disinformation, but I would,” she said on air. “I think it was a profoundly irresponsible decision. I don’t think I would be doing my job if I did not say that what we saw tonight was a series of extremely irresponsible decisions that put a sexual abuse victim at risk, that put that person at risk in front of a national audience and I could not have disagreed with it more. It was shameful.” Read More CNN Trump town hall — live: Trump calls Kaitlan Collins ‘nasty person’ and is considering January 6 pardons Trump refuses to say he wants Ukraine to win war with Russia Trump snaps and calls Kaitlin Collins ‘nasty’ in tense exchange over classified documents at CNN town hall Trump calls Jan 6 a ‘beautiful day’ during combative CNN town hall Biden takes aim at Trump town hall with searing one-line critique
2023-05-11 10:53
'It's not the same': Meghan King slammed as she shares her 'single mom struggles' despite co-parenting
Meghan King claims being a single parent has been the 'hardest thing' she has ever done
2023-05-11 10:24
Trump snaps and calls Kaitlin Collins ‘nasty’ in tense exchange over classified documents at CNN town hall
Former President Donald Trump called Kaitlin Collins a “nasty person” during a tense exchange over classified documents during CNN’s New Hampshire town hall. During a combative back-and-forth over Mr Trump retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Mr Trump and Ms Collins spoke over each other for several moments. “Do you mind?” Mr Trump said. “I would like for you to answer the question. That’s why I asked it,” Ms Collins said. “You’re a nasty person, I’ll tell ya,” Mr Trump responded, which elicited applause from the GOP-leaning audience. “It’s very simple. I was negotiating and I was talking to Nara (National Archives and Records Administration).” More follows ... Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-05-11 10:22
Japan AI Stocks Surge as SoftBank Joins ChatGPT Clone Race
SoftBank Group Corp.’s mobile unit has declared it’s joining a global race to build a version of ChatGPT,
2023-05-11 10:20
My son the hostage: Dissident families targeted in Belarus
The sons of two anti-government figures are in jail because of their fathers' actions, the BBC hears.
2023-05-11 10:17
Biden takes aim at Trump town hall with searing one-line critique
President Joe Biden went after his old 2020 rival on Wednesday as Donald Trump attempted to make his case for a third presidential bid at a CNNtown hall. Mr Biden joined with others commenting on the ex-president’s combative performance, and asked whether Americans were really ready for another four years with a brash mudslinger in the White House. His remark came as Mr Trump mocked his CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins as a “nasty” person while spreading his usual lies about the 2020 election and his efforts to overturn the results. “It’s simple, folks. Do you want four more years of that?” Mr Biden asked. Mr Biden announced his own reelection campaign last month; if elected to serve another four years in office, he would be 86 by the time his term ended thus making him the oldest president to ever serve. Polls of the president’s approval rating have shown his base of supporters shrinking over the past several months and in some Mr Biden trails his potential 2024 GOP challengers Donald Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by several percentage points. Still, the president remains adamant that he is the best choice for his party’s nominee in 2024 even as wide swaths of the Democratic Party, according to polling, would prefer that he step aside. Mr Biden has pointed to his party’s successful defence of the Senate in last year’s midterm elections as evidence of his own political strength, though the actual dynamics of the congressional and statewide contests are thought to have been affected more by the constant claims of election fraud by Trump-backed candidates and the recent overturn of Roe vs Wade by the Supreme Court. Mr Trump spent the bulk of his time at the CNN town hall on Wednesday repeating those same lies and refusing to take accountability for the attack on the US Capitol, even falsely claiming to have offered thousands of troops when in fact no order to deploy was issued. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-05-11 10:16
Fact-checking Trump's CNN town hall in New Hampshire
CNN hosted a town hall with 2024 Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday night in New Hampshire.
2023-05-11 09:54