Between provocations and spades, to the applause of his fans, Donald Trump has made a comeback. Combative, the candidate for the 2024 election replayed his favorite score on Wednesday evening for his big comeback on the CNN channel. This “town hall”, a great ritual of American politics, was the first media appearance of the former American president since he was found responsible for 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”.
A key state for the Republican primaries
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. The choice of New Hampshire for this “town hall” 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. And threw a stone into the pond by urging his Republican colleagues to cause a default on the American debt, unless “massive” budget cuts.
Evasive on Ukraine and abortion
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 sanitary 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.
The media “enemies of the people”
“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 candidate president. This exchange was often 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 standing for the 2024 election. But in a very competitive media world, channels need of 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 all those who, on Twitter or elsewhere, have predicted that this town hall on CNN would be a pro-Trump disaster, you were right,” political scientist Larry Sabato said.