CNN CEO Chris Licht on Thursday defended the network’s decision to host its town hall with Donald Trump as staff woke up to a blizzard of criticism about the calamitous broadcast, during which the former president regurgitated his lies about the 2020 election, distorted his record in office, and mocked a woman whom a jury just found him liable for sexually assaulting.
On a 9 a.m. editorial call, Licht praised the performance of moderator Kaitlan Collins, who battled in vain for 70 minutes on Wednesday night to push back against a tsunami of falsehoods spewed by Trump as an approving New Hampshire audience laughed and applauded. “I absolutely unequivocally believe America was served very well by what we did last night,” Licht told staff.
After hailing Collins’ “masterful performance,” Licht addressed the enormous backlash generated by the show. “You do not have to like the former president’s answers, but you can’t say that we didn’t get them,” Licht said, according to ex-CNN host Brian Stelter.
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The former Reliable Sources anchor added that many CNN staffers are “angry” about the town hall, but Licht maintained that the network was merely doing what it’s supposed to do. “Kaitlan pressed [Trump] again and again and made news,” Stelter quoted Licht as saying. “Made a LOT of news,” and that is CNN’s “job.”
The network chief also allegedly addressed the multiple rounds of applause that Trump received during his rants on the broadcast. The audience clapped and laughed at one point when the 2024 hopeful talked over Collins as she tried to correct his false claims about how much of his border wall was actually built. He enjoyed another ovation when Collins asked why Trump no longer thought it was unacceptable to use the debt ceiling as a “negotiating wedge” and he answered: “Because now I’m not the president.”
“While we all may have been uncomfortable hearing people clapping, that was also an important part of the story,” Licht said on the call, according to Stelter, because those who clapped represent “a large swath of America.” Licht reportedly said the media’s failure to properly acknowledge those people was a mistake in the leadup to 2016 election.
Licht’s doubling down during the morning call comes in the face of criticism—both public and private—from CNN staffers over the fiasco.
On Wednesday night, CNN’s Oliver Darcy opened his Reliable Sources newsletter in a tone diametrically opposed to the line taken by Licht. “It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening,” Darcy wrote. He went on to call the performance “Trump’s unhinged social media feed brought to life on stage” and said Collins had been “put in an uncomfortable position, given the town hall was conducted in front of a Republican audience that applauded Trump, giving a sense of unintended endorsement to his shameful antics.”
CNN contributor Michael Fanone, a former police officer who was injured at the Capitol riots, blasted Licht’s decision to give Trump airtime in a Rolling Stone column. “In the past, CNN has recognized the dangers of allowing election deniers a public platform and would not allow them on-air,” he wrote. “Under new ‘leadership,’ that policy has been discarded as evidenced by CNN’s decision to allow the chief election denier, former President Donald J. Trump, a prominent time slot in its evening lineup.”
And several network employees expressed their dissatisfaction with the event, adding that it was “delusional” for Licht to believe that Trump’s steamrolling of the truth on CNN airwaves was a success.
“This is so bad,” one CNN on-air talent told The Daily Beast as the town hall was still airing. “I was cautiously optimistic despite the criticism... it is awful. It’s a Trump infomercial. We’re going to get crushed.”
Another network staffer was even more blunt. “One of the worst hours I’ve ever seen on our air,” she sighed.
As liberal critics lambasted the town hall, Trump and his supporters were delighted. After the broadcast, Trump used his actual unhinged Truth Social feed to thank the “AMAZING” audience who attended, while MAGA figures including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) lavished Trump with praise and shared clips of his performance.
