Anderson Cooper, the prominent American journalist and news anchor, recently defended CNN’s decision to host a town hall with former President Donald Trump as reported by Mediaite.
This event, held on Wednesday night, received a great deal of criticism from various detractors. Some were unhappy that CNN was giving a platform to a man who had attempted to undermine American democracy, while others were upset that the event came just one day after a New York court found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation in a civil case.
In addition, Trump has been accused of trying to cling to power after losing the 2020 election and inciting the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Not surprisingly, during the town hall, Trump continued to lie about a variety of issues.
In response to the backlash, Cooper opened Thursday’s AC360 by addressing the town hall and acknowledging the concerns of many viewers. He recognized that many people were deeply upset by the fact that someone who had tried to destroy American democracy was given a platform to speak.
He also acknowledged that Trump’s lies during the event were disturbing. Cooper then listed some of Trump’s offensive comments from the town hall, such as referring to a Black police officer as “a thug,” calling moderator Kaitlan Collins a “nasty person,” and lying about the 2020 election being rigged.
Despite the criticisms, Cooper defended CNN’s decision to host the town hall with Trump. He argued that, as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, Trump is someone who needs to be taken seriously. Cooper pointed out that many Republican and Republican-leaning voters attended the town hall and are a representative sample of about half of the country. These voters are not going away, and they have the power to elect someone like Trump to the presidency again.
Cooper acknowledged that some viewers were unhappy with CNN’s decision to give Trump a platform to speak. However, he argued that staying in a silo and ignoring Trump’s popularity is not going to make him disappear. Instead, people need to be aware of what he is saying and doing, and work to counter his lies and misinformation. At the same time, Cooper pointed out that viewers have the right to tune out if they don’t want to listen to Trump. Ultimately, he defended CNN’s decision to host the town hall with Trump as an important and necessary step in understanding the current political landscape in the United States.
Before we begin with tonight’s broadcast, I want to say something about what we witnessed at last night’s town hall,” he began. “Many of you have expressed deep anger and disappointment. Many of you are upset that someone who attempted to destroy our democracy was invited to sit on a stage in front of a crowd of Republican voters to answer questions and predictably, continued to spew lie after lie after lie. And I get it. It was disturbing.”
“Now, many of you think CNN shouldn’t have given him any platform to speak,” Cooper continued. “And I understand the anger about that – giving him the audience, the time. I get that. But this is what I also get. The man you were so disturbed to see and hear from last night? That man is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president. And according to polling, no other Republican is even close.”
He said the Republican and Republican-leaning attendees at the town hall are “a sampling of about half the country. They are your family members, your neighbors, and they are voting. And many said they’re voting for him.”
