CNN faces backlash over chaotic Trump town hall event

By ALEXANDRA OLSON and DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN is facing a backlash over its town hall featuring former President Donald Trump, an event that swiftly turned chaotic in a stark display of the tightrope facing journalists covering a leading 2024 Republican candidate who refuses to play by the rules. The town hall Wednesday was the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign, and CNN defended its decision to hold it as a chance to put Trump in front of a wider audience, outside of the conservative media bubble he has largely kept to since early in his presidency. Critics say the event staged in front of Republicans and unaffiliated voters expected to vote in the GOP primary instead turned into a Trump campaign rally.