House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Thursday belittled CNN’s town hall meeting with former President Donald Trump.
During the New York Democratic leader’s weekly press conference, Mr. Jeffries referred to the Wednesday night program of GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, moderated by host Kaitlan Collins, as a “so-called town hall meeting.”
“It would be a very dangerous, devastating and destructive thing if Donald Trump got anywhere close to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” Mr. Jeffries said when asked about the possibility of Mr. Trump being re-elected to office. “And exhibit A, for the trauma that the American people will experience if that were to happen, were his own words and performance at that so-called town hall meeting.”
CNN defended the town hall in a statement to The Washington Times, and said that Ms. Collins “exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist.”
“She asked tough, fair and revealing questions,” a CNN spokeswoman said. “And she followed up and fact-checked President Trump in real time to arm voters with crucial information about his positions as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican frontrunner. That is CNN’s role and responsibility: to get answers and hold the powerful to account.”
Mr. Jeffries was not the first Democrat to show his displeasure about the Trump town hall, hosted by CNN, that included an obvious pro-Trump audience in the studio who cheered repeatedly for the former president.
SEE ALSO: Trump digs in on election fraud claims in CNN town hall
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, said on Twitter that the cable channel should be “ashamed” of themselves.
“They have lost total control of this ’town hall’ to again be manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan 6th, and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim,” she tweeted.
Mr. Trump had several intense exchanges with Ms. Collins over issues that included the 2020 election results, the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the war in Ukraine and the classified documents dispute he has engaged in with the National Archives.
At one point during an inflamed exchange with Ms. Collins, he told her, “You are a nasty person.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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