A combative Donald Trump replayed his favorite score on Wednesday for his big comeback on the CNN channel, the candidate for the 2024 election multiplying provocations and spades, to the applause of his fans.
This town hall, a major ritual in American politics, was the former US president’s first media appearance since being convicted of sexual assault by a New York court. Donald Trump has also long mocked his accuser, calling her “crazy”.
The exchange was also a perilous exercise for CNN, where Donald Trump had not appeared in such a format since his election in 2016. The channel, with which he has a conflicting relationship, was accused of offering him a megaphone despite his lies on the 2020 election, lost to Joe Biden.
And, on Wednesday evening, Donald Trump once again hammered home – without proof – that this ballot was “rigged”.
You would have to be “an idiot” not to recognize it, teased the Republican with the red tie. The former leader, favorite for the Republican primary, has also not firmly committed to accepting the result of the 2024 presidential election.
” Ashamed “
The choice of New Hampshire for the event owed nothing to chance. This state bordering Canada is among the first to organize its Republican primaries in early 2024. A victory would guarantee Donald Trump valuable momentum for the rest of his campaign.
In front of an audience committed to his cause and often hilarious – voters intending to vote in the Republican primary – the former president commented pell-mell on several burning issues of American news. On the subject of the American debt among others, Trump threw a stone into the pond by urging his Republican colleagues to cause a default, unless “massive” budget cuts.
The former tenant of the White House, known for his promise to build a “wall” on the border with Mexico, also predicted that Thursday, when an influx of migrants is expected due to the expiry of a health measure, would one day be “shameful”.
He was also extremely evasive about the war in Ukraine, refusing to say concretely whether he wanted a victory for kyiv or Moscow.
On abortion, an issue on which Republicans are increasingly uncomfortable, Donald Trump again refused to say whether he would enact a national ban on abortion.
He multiplied the attacks against his successor Joe Biden, his possible rival in 2024, assuring that he was “seriously putting pressure on him”.
The Democratic president reacted at the end of the televised exchange.
“Do you really want four more years of this?” “, he launched in a tweet. “If you don’t want it, contribute to our campaign,” wrote the octogenarian president-candidate.
“Not a good person”
Wednesday night’s exchange was on many occasions tense. “You’re not a good person”, “you don’t know what you’re talking about”… The former president has repeatedly insulted moderator Kaitlan Collins, a rising star at CNN.
Under his presidency, the billionaire had multiplied the blows against the media, and particularly CNN, qualified as “enemies of the people”.
Last October, the former president even filed a complaint against the channel, which he accused of having defamed him to dissuade him from running for the 2024 election.
But in a very competitive media universe, the channels need a show. Donald Trump’s antics, whether they shock or amuse, get ratings – CNN has had some of its best scores under his presidency.
The choice to reschedule the tempestuous septuagenarian was however strongly criticized. “To everyone who, on Twitter or elsewhere, has predicted that this town hall on CNN would be a pro-Trump disaster, you were right,” political scientist Larry Sabato said.
The Trump camp, on the other hand, was delighted with the “fantastic” performance of its candidate. One of his advisers was delighted that Donald Trump had the opportunity to “talk about his program” at the CNN hearing, which he had not done “for a long time”.