Trump makes a fool of CNN.

May 11, 2023

          Donald Trump played CNN for a fool at its televised town hall on Wednesday evening. Kaitlan Collins did her best to ask tough questions and tried to fact-check Trump's lies in real-time—for which she deserves credit. But Collins was no match for Trump, who simply refused to answer her questions. Instead, he steamrolled Collins with a rapid-fire stream of lies that could not be contained. Trump had the enthusiastic support of a Trump-friendly crowd that whooped and hollered as Trump repeated lies that have been soundly refuted.

          The crowd clapped for Trump and laughed at Collins, about whom Trump said, “Only a stupid person would believe [what you have asked me.] I know you are not a stupid person”—by which Trump meant to imply that Collins is stupid. The crowd laughed at the line, indicating they understood the insult and were “in” on the joke. Trump later responded to Collins’ persistence in challenging Trump by saying, “It’s very simple that you are a nasty person.”

          Trump called January 6^th “a beautiful day.” He said that Ashli Babbitt was a “patriot” and that the law enforcement officer who shot Babbitt while defending the Capitol was a “thug.” He said he had no regrets about anything he said on January 6^th. He lied about what he said and didn’t say to the insurrectionists. He lied about the timeline of events on January 6^th. He said that “Crazy Nancy” was in charge of security at the Capitol on January 6^th—a lie. Trump lied about what Mike Pence could lawfully do when counting the electoral ballots. He refused to apologize for endangering Mike Pence’s life.

          He promised to pardon “a large portion” of the January 6^th defendants, including (possibly) the Proud Boys, who have been convicted of seditious conspiracy.

          Trump refused to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. He claimed that there were “millions of votes [Democrats] were stuffing in ballot boxes.” He refused to acknowledge that a recount in Wisconsin at his request increased votes for Joe Biden.

          Trump repeatedly defamed and mocked E. Jean Carroll and attacked the jury that found him liable for sexual assault. He “blamed the victim” by asking, “What kind of a woman meets somebody in a department store and within minutes ends up playing hanky-panky with them in a dressing room?” The crowd laughed with glee at Trump's mockery of his sexual assault victim when he called her a “wack job.” Trump emphasized that the jury rejected Carroll’s rape claim but refused to acknowledge that the jury found him liable for sexual assault. He repeated the statements that were the basis of Carroll’s defamation claim, i.e., that he “doesn’t know E. Jean Carroll.” (Let’s hope E. Jean Carroll sues him for defamation again.)

          At this point in the town hall, CNN took its first commercial break. I stopped watching because I was overwhelmed by nausea. In fairness, I was nauseous when the town hall began because I watched thirty minutes of CNN coverage before the town hall. In that coverage, CNN did its best to whitewash Trump's criminality, corruption, and white nationalism.

          For example, I was saddened and upset to see Wolf Blitzer give JD Vance five minutes to present an infomercial for Trump filled with lies about Trump's handling of the economy. Vance referred to President Biden as the “chaos candidate” and portrayed Trump as the representative of a golden age of peace and prosperity. Blitzer failed to challenge those lies. To his credit, Blitzer attempted (without success) to get Vance to discuss the verdict against Trump for sexual assault. But that allowed Vance to claim that “the jurisdiction of New York is trying to destroy Trump,” which Blitzer seemed incapable of challenging.

          CNN’s post-townhall coverage was a train wreck because CNN attempted to “balance” its panel of pundits by including Republicans who simply repeated Trump's lies. But CNN had the good sense to allow Jake Tapper to fact-check Trump's lies in a stand-alone segment—which Tapper did with unbiased vigor. Good for Tapper! He saved CNN’s post-townhall coverage.

          Here is a sampling of headlines after the CNN town hall:

• NYTimes, Trump’s Falsehoods and Bluster Overtake CNN Town Hall.

• WaPo: Trump’s CNN town hall: Defending rioters, mocking sexual assault, threatening default.

• Politico, Cable carnage: Trump turns CNN town hall into televised combat.

• WSJ: Trump Mocks Sexual Abuse Case, Repeats False 2020 Election Claims at CNN Town Hall

• The Hill, Trump returns to CNN for town hall filled with false claims.

• Business Insider, Trump Laughs With CNN's Town Hall Audience Over E. Jean Carroll Case.

• Fox News: Trump claims rape accuser a 'wack job' and verdict he was liable for sexual abuse a 'rigged deal' at town hall

          CNN’s decision to showcase Trump in a town hall was a grievous mistake that further diminishes CNN’s dwindling legitimacy. CNN was incapable of fact-checking Trump on a real-time basis despite the best efforts by Kaitlan Collins. CNN committed malpractice by hand-picking an audience of Trump supporters willing to laugh at a sexual assault victim and cheer the pardoning of insurrectionists.

          What the heck was CNN thinking? It has either crossed over to the dark side and genuinely seeks to promote Trump or is so desperate for ratings that it is willing to squander its remaining legitimacy. Either way, it was a disgrace. Trump made a fool of CNN.

Biden goes on offense over the debt ceiling.

          Biden appeared in New York’s Hudson Valley in the district of a vulnerable Republican to push for a resolution to the debt crisis. See NYTimes, Biden Woos Republican Moderates in Debt Ceiling Standoff.  (The article is accessible to all.)

          Although the NYTimes article gives little coverage of Biden’s comments during the appearance, I listened to the speech live. Biden was great—at the top of his game. He both cajoled and chastised Republicans to pass a clean debt ceiling increase. He went after Republicans hard on the 22% cuts across the board to social programs—including veterans’ benefits.

          Biden should continue to hang tough and tease the possibility that he will use the Fourteenth Amendment to avoid default.

George Santos is indicted.

          A federal grand jury indicted George Santos on thirteen counts of fraud, deceit, and lying to Congress. See George Santos pleads not guilty to 13-count federal indictment | AP News. The indictment is here: US vs. George Santos. The indictment alleges, in part, that Santos solicited funds for his campaign and then used the money to pay for personal expenses.

          Santos called the charges a “witch hunt,”—which is the new GOP response to any effort to hold Republicans to account for criminal or unethical behavior.

          Kevin McCarthy said that he would not expel Santos over the indictment. But in a rare display of backbone, McCarthy said that he would not support Santos for election in 2024. McCarthy also announced that he would not support election bids in 2024 by Francisco Franco, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Hoffa. Talk about courage!

A final word on Post/ABC poll.

          On Monday of this week, I criticized the Washington Post/ABC poll showing Biden trailing Trump. Yesterday, I linked to criticism of the poll by commentators with experience in polling. Today, I recommend this superb guide to polling by Simon Rosenberg in his Substack blog, Hopium Chronicles, Some Notes on Polling, 18 Months Out.

I urge you to read Simon’s analysis in full if you have any lingering doubts caused by the shoddy Post/ABC poll and polling general. As we are hit with a barrage of polls over the next eighteen months, keep Simon’s post near at hand and re-read as necessary!

          As long as I am talking about Simon Rosenberg, I should add the following: If you don’t subscribe to his Hopium Chronicles By Simon Rosenberg, you should! I hear almost daily from readers who thank me for recommending Simon’s Hopium Chronicles when he first joined Substack. Readers consistently praise Simon’s work for providing the information they need to survive and thrive in a challenging political environment. Simon provides a hopeful, action-oriented take on politics.

          I would add Simon’s Hopium Chronicles to Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water, and Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American as essential daily reading. Readers should feel free to recommend other Substack authors in the Comments section of today’s newsletter!

Follow up on Marc Elias's article.

          I received many comments from readers regarding my criticisms of Marc Elias’s article on the effectiveness of organizing to overcome voter suppression. Several responses stand out because they focus on organizing in states where voter suppression is real, so I repeat them here:

• Marc Elias's comments are SO frustrating! It leads me to make another impassioned plea for readers to engage with Movement Voter Project which has made significant gains in getting out the vote in marginalized communities. MVP raises funds to distribute to grass roots organizations in key states for local, state, national elections, as well as to support the communities in general in non-election years. These organizations are focused on building engaged communities.

• If anyone doubts what spirit and will can achieve on our side in the face of voter suppression, watch “Dress Rehearsal” the really inspiring 15-minute documentary about the April 2020 Wisconsin Supreme Court election where there was plenty of GOP-led voter suppression and the Democratic candidate won. When I start to flag, I watch that little film again and think about all the fantastic new Democrats in Congress!

• David Pepper, former Ohio Democratic Party chair, explains in his Substack blog, Pepperspective, On Democracy’s Front Line, why he started "Blue Ohio," an organization created to ensure Democrats are challenging every single Republican seat in the OH State Legislature, even in districts that are held in a gerrymandered stranglehold. All our work matters.

• I live in Idaho. We are used to pushing water uphill. Yet we persist. And we have succeeded with citizen voter initiatives. It is doing the work to meet people where they live that lifts all boats. Thank you for this newsletter.

GOP House Oversight Committee Flops in Biden Investigation.

          GOP Chair of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, has been promising blockbuster new information on corruption by Joe Biden and his family. Instead, Comer has recycled old information showing that Hunter Biden was engaged in business when his father was Vice President. None of the information suggests illegality by Joe Biden. See CNN, House Republicans allege Biden family members received millions in payments from foreign entities in new bank records report.

          Per CNN,

The foreign payments raise questions about Hunter Biden’s business activities while his father was vice president, but the committee does not suggest any illegality about the payments from foreign sources.

[T] he latest report does not show any payments made directly to Joe Biden, either as vice president or after leaving office.

Comer was asked about specific policy decisions Biden made while president or vice president that may have been directly influenced by these foreign payments. Comer failed to name any and instead pointed to then-vice president Biden traveling around the world and discussing foreign aid in the last year of the Obama administration . . . .

          Comer is simply re-hashing vague claims of wrongdoing that have been investigated by the FBI and DOJ for years. Hunter Biden may be indicted soon for tax fraud and lying on an application for a gun permit, but there is no indication that Hunter Biden will be indicted for any of his foreign business dealings.

Republicans attack the jury in the Trump defamation trial.

          Republicans continue their assault on the rule of law whenever the law is applied to Trump. After a federal civil jury delivered a unanimous verdict finding that Trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll, leading Republicans attacked the jury. Senator Marco Rubio said that “The jury’s a joke.” Senator Rick Scott dismissed the verdict because “It was a New York jury.” Senator Tommy Tuberville said, “It makes me want to vote for him twice.” See Huffington Post, ‘That Jury's A Joke’: GOP Senators Defend Donald Trump After Sexual Battery Verdict | HuffPost Latest News

          Of course, we know that at least one juror (a male) said that he obtained most of his news from a right-wing radio show. That juror joined in the unanimous verdict . . . a fact conveniently omitted by Senators Rubio, Scott, and Tuberville.

          For a positive take on how the E. Jean Carroll verdict benefitted all Americans, see Dennis Aftergut, The Hill, Five takeaways from Trump’s Manhattan sexual abuse verdict.

Concluding Thoughts.

          The CNN debacle was a bracing reminder of the stakes in 2024. Trump is taking the side of insurrectionists; he lies about everything; he defends theft of national defense secrets; he is rooting for Russia to annihilate Ukraine; he hopes the US defaults on its debts; he wants to revert the US to a dirty-coal economy; he casts Black Americans seeking justice as criminals; he promises to pardon white nationalist cop-killers; and he mocks his opponents, victims, and women who stand up to him.

          If you ever entertained a moment of doubt about whether every ounce of effort you devote to defending democracy is necessary, the answer is clear: Yes—everything we do is not only necessary but also a moral obligation. Not only necessary but also urgent, essential, and mission-critical to the continued health of our democracy.

          After the CNN town hall, we must dispel all reservations and banish all doubt. Two seemingly inconsistent facts can be simultaneously true: Trump can slowly self-destruct while becoming more of a threat to democracy. Take nothing for granted and leave no effort on the field of battle. We are in for the fight of our lives. The good news is that we are in a position of strength and know how to beat Trump. Let’s do it!

          Stay strong!