During a town hall event in New Hampshire on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump dismissed CNN’s Kaitlan Collins’ politically charged questions as out-of-date, negating her role as moderator. Despite Collins’ attempts to bring up what she thought were controversial topics like allegations of electoral fraud, January 6, and the E. Jean Carroll case, the highly anticipated event appeared to be a positive sign for Trump. The former president earned a standing ovation when he was introduced.
Collins began the event by focusing on the 2020 election and allegations of fraud. Trump emphasized the importance of upholding the Constitution despite Collins’ implication that he believed otherwise. As Collins continued to press him about the 2020 race, Trump shifted the conversation to the important issue of illegal immigration. He argued that questions about this topic will be asked later, as Collins brought up another left-leaning topic: January 6.
Trump displayed receipts of what he said on January 6 as Collins persisted in disputing him on the topic. He called out the officer who shot Ashli Babbitt on that day and stated that there was no justification for her killing. When asked if he would pardon the January 6th protestors, he detailed the difficulty of getting a fair trial in Washington, DC and New York.
See all of the most viral moments from Trump’s CNN town hall
Collins then moved on to the verdict in the case of E. Jean Carroll and the Manhattan jury’s decision. Trump once again denied the allegations of sexual assault, claiming that he had never met her. Trump also maintained the narrative by humorously satirizing the statements to show how ridiculous they were.
Collins asked Trump if he regretted the comments he made on the Access Hollywood tape as she persisted with her outdated and misleading questioning.
At the conclusion of the event, as Collins attempted to teach Trump about the Presidential Records Act, Trump asserted that he had every right to remove documents under the act, noting that several other former presidents had also removed documents.
The event ended with Trump hilariously dismissing Collins as she persisted in asking him if he would accept the results of the 2024 election.
