The twice-impeached president has long had an adversarial relationship with the network he’s labeled “fake news,” but it looks like he’s ready to kiss and make up.
CNN announced on Monday that former President Donald Trump will participate in a town hall broadcast next week, marking the first time he’s appeared on the channel since before the 2016 election. Trump, who infamously labeled CNN “fake news” and is currently suing the network for defamation, will make his return on May 10. The primetime event will be moderated by CNN This Morning anchor Kaitlan Collins and feature the twice-impeached ex-president taking questions from GOP primary voters in New Hampshire. Under the direction of new CEO Chris Licht, the cable news channel has made a concerted effort to reach out to Republican politicians ahead of the 2024 election. For instance, Licht met with “anti-woke” GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy last month and discussed cancel culture and “wokeism.” Ramaswamy later sat down for a contentious interview with Don Lemon, just days before CNN fired the veteran anchor. Despite his defamation suit against the network, Trump recently suggested he’d warm up to CNN—so long as it panders to him. “If ‘low ratings’ CNN ever went Conservative, they would be an absolute gold mine, and I would help them to do so!” Trump declared last fall.
