Some other candidates are too afraid to take this step in their quest to defeat Joe Biden, and are afraid to do anything other than Fox News,” a Trump adviser told Vanity Fair. “Going outside the traditional Republican ‘comfort zone’ was a key to President Trump’s success in 2016. “But the primary focus of a presidential town hall is to have the candidate interact with the voters, and that’s why we convene these things-because we think it’s so important to the process of voters making their choices,” he said.
Moderators will be coming in with follow-up questions, which Chalian said is part of CNN’s “typical standard” for holding candidates accountable. He added that CNN has approached every major presidential candidate and potential candidate about participating in CNN’s coverage-the presidential town hall being a part of that.
While “all of that context makes him a unique candidate,” it “does not make our approach any different, in the sense that we hold every candidate who comes to CNN accountable for their words,” Chalian said. “What we can do is prod, ask questions, follow up, and try to get as revealing answers as possible.” Chalian added that it’s “not new for CNN journalists to question Donald Trump” (though he didn’t specify whether this would take the form of a live fact-check). Ultimately, it’s CNN’s view that while Trump is “a unique candidate,” who “since being president has a series of investigations around him”-and “there was how he left the presidency,” Chalian also noted, ostensibly referencing the January 6 insurrection-the network is going to treat him like any other presidential candidate. “We obviously can’t control what Donald Trump says-that’s up to him,” said Chalian. Trump still refuses to accept the results of the election he lost nearly two and a half years ago to Joe Biden, which begs the question: Does CNN plan to fact-check Trump in real time? What happens if Trump repeats the lie that the 2020 election was “rigged,” as he did just last week from the rally stage? I put such questions to CNN political director David Chalian on Tuesday, as the network prepares its program. Plus, it’s a risky move for CNN, given the challenge of responsibly platforming the twice-impeached, indicted, insurrection-inciting former president. For one, Trump, who repeatedly dismissed CNN (among several other outlets) as “fake news” throughout his presidency, has not done an interview with the network since his 2016 presidential campaign. News that CNN will hold a town hall with former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire next Wednesday came as a surprise on multiple fronts.
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