12-05-2023, 09:22 PM
(12-05-2023, 11:33 AM)inletwindow Wrote:Being the Republican frontrunner at this point is like leading the MLB standings after less than 10 games of a 162 game season, or leading the Premier League after 2 games, it's pretty meaningless at this point. 12 months down the line, it'll have way more meaning.(11-05-2023, 06:54 PM)Brekkie Wrote: Giving a sex offender an hour of primetime TV a day after they were found guilty of not just being a sex offender but a liar as well really isn't CNN's finest hour.
Not found guilty -- he was found liable. There's a pretty big legal difference. It was a lawsuit -- a civil case -- not a criminal case. There's a much stricter standard that must be met for criminal cases (has to be no "reasonable doubt"). For civil cases, it's just is it more likely than not?
And Trump just has to pay damages. There won't be any jail time or anything like what might come with a criminal conviction.
(11-05-2023, 07:30 PM)ginnyfan Wrote: Trump was in his element, dominating the conversation and putting on a show with his usual antics. Having his hard core fans in the crowd helped a lot. Collins did fine, IMO. She did not go for the shouting match approach, something most of her colleagues would do, and I appreciate that. She was there, calm, composed, with her facts, questions, comments, and she was not driven crazy by Trump and did not burn in a desire to somehow outclass and expose him.
Criticism was always going to happen, CNN's remaining lib viewers were never going to enjoy a Trump show. Still, I think it was a good decision to do this Town Hall, as part of CNN's overall effort to return to the middle and bring back some balance to its coverage. Trump and his supporters, which is half of the US voting body, can not be ignored and those who want to do that should switch the channel to the lib heaven also known as MSNBC.
I'm not sure having Trump on like this is a "return to the middle." Trump and his followers are extremists. He won't even acknowledge the simple fact that he lost the last election and that it was in fact NOT rigged.
So where does CNN or any other news organization go from here? How do you cover a candidate like this that is so far removed from reality? That is facing so many criminal investigations?
I don't have those answers. But I don't think this town hall went how CNN had hoped. Kaitlan Collins sure tried to fact check him and get him to admit reality, etc, but she failed. He just talked right over her to wild cheers and laughter.
It wasn't much different from a Trump rally. Should outright lies be given a platform like CNN? Obviously not.
But you also can't just ignore the Republican frontrunner for president. Strange times indeed.
In my view, it was a mistake to give Trump 70 minutes of prime time. There was nothing new or newsworthy in what he said, and there was never going to be, and by this time next year, the greater likelihood is that Trump will be behind bars, and whilst it won't actually prevent him from running for office, it'll make his election to office next to impossible.
Meanwhile CNN have put themselves in an untenable position. They sold all their journalistic credibility down the river for a brief ratings pop that didn't even last the rest of the night. By 10pm, they were already back to 3rd place in Total Viewers. CNN's attempt to go for middle ground is doomed to fail, because neither side wants to reach out to the other side for any reason, meaning there is no middle ground to be had, and trying to out Fox News, Fox News, is a recipe for disaster, as has been shown before by both CNN and MSNBC. It's difficult to see where CNN goes from here but further into the tank.