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(Trends Wide) — It’s hard to see how the United States benefited from the show of lies that aired on Trends Wide this Wednesday night.
Kaitlan Collins is a tough and knowledgeable interviewer. She fact-checked Trump during the 70-minute live forum. She over and over again told Trump that the election was not stolen. That she was not rigged. That there was no evidence of the lies she was spreading onstage.
“The election was not rigged, Mr. President,” Collins told Trump at one point at the event. “You can’t keep saying that all night.”
However, Trump did it. The former president frequently ignored or interrupted Collins throughout the night as he unleashed a barrage of misinformation about the country, which is what much of the GOP continues to believe. Trump, a professional lie machine, fired off falsehoods at a rapid pace while using his bravado to overwhelm Collins, stealing control of the stage at points on the live forum.
Trump lied about the 2020 election. He did not take responsibility for the January 6 insurrection that those same lies incited. And he scoffed at the rape allegations by E. Jean Carroll, for which a jury found him responsible Tuesday.
And Trends Wide broadcast it all. And again. It felt like 2016 all over again. It was Trump’s insane social media stream brought to life on stage. And Collins was left in an awkward position, as the live forum was held in front of a Republican audience that applauded Trump, giving a sense of unwitting endorsement of his embarrassing antics.
Yes, there was some news. The live forum highlighted his insistence on continuing to sell the 2020 election lies. Additionally, Trump said the United States should default on its debt if the White House disagrees with Republican spending cuts, he declined to say if he wants to. Ukraine or Russia win the war and refused to give a direct answer on abortion.
But for most of the night, the nation’s eyes were transfixed by Trump’s abuse of the platform he’d been given. At one point, he even insulted Collins, calling her a “nasty person,” to which the crowd of New Hampshire primary Republican voters erupted in cheers.
“We don’t have enough time to verify every lie he told,” host Jake Tapper said candidly after the event ended.
Trump’s team was naturally delighted with the result, according to reports. “Trump’s advisers are delighted with how he’s doing so far,” reported Jonathan Swan of The New York Times. “They can’t believe he’s getting an hour on Trends Wide with an audience applauding his every line and laughing at his every joke.”
No one else can believe it.
While Collins was largely praised for his relentless fact-checking of the former president, he faced an impossible task. Trends Wide and the network’s new chief, Chris Licht, are facing a fury of criticism, both internal and external, for the event.
How Licht and other Trends Wide executives deal with the criticism in the coming days and weeks will be crucial. Will they defend what happened at Saint Anselm College? Or will they express any regret?
For now, Trends Wide is holding its own.
“Tonight Kaitlan Collins exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist. He asked tough, fair and revealing questions,” a spokesperson for the network said. “And she followed and verified President Trump in real time to arm voters with crucial information about where he stands as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican frontrunner.”
“That’s Trends Wide’s role and responsibility: to get answers and hold the powerful to account,” he added.
More criticism of Trends Wide for the Trump forum
“The predictably disastrous live forum [de Trends Wide] It was really disastrous.” tweeted television news veteran Mark Lukasiewicz. “Testing again: living the lie works. A friendly MAGA crowd [Make America Great Again] she constantly laughs, claps at Trump jokes including sexual assaults and January 6th, and the moderator can’t begin to keep up with her AR-15 lies.”
“This was madness, total madness,” Bill Carter tweeted.. “Like giving Drunken Uncle a microphone and saying: go ahead!”
“This is the lowest point for Trends Wide as an organization,” said James Fallows on Twitter.
“THIS is the 2024 Republican presidential primary,” wrote Brian Stelter on Twitter. “Look away if you want, but that’s how it’s going to be. Should the media ignore him or stare him in the face?
That’s as far as the complaints went: “I have complaints, but I really don’t blame Trends Wide for having a live forum with the favorite of the Republican Party,” argued Sarah Longwell. “It’s good to know what we’re up against. We cannot hide from the fight in front of us. Trump will probably be the nominee and we need to have a clear eye on what we’re up against.”
“This was a preview of what American journalism can expect from a 2024 campaign starring Mr. Trump, who, despite his ubiquity in political life, has rarely appeared on mainstream television outside of Fox News. since leaving office,” wrote Michael Grynbaum in The New York Times.
Justin Baragona said Trends Wide was walking away from the live forum with a lot of criticism… “At the same time, I feel like Kaitlan Collins is doing the best she can in this situation,” he added. (Twitter)
Chris Licht said he wouldn’t let anyone on his network say it’s raining when it’s not. he pointed Alex Sherman. “But now he’s let someone in who says he’s raining when it’s not, and he’s added hundreds of people to clap when he does.”
“Trump seemed to have significant home-field advantage over Collins,” wrote The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr.
“Props to [Collins] that he was in an impossible position but did a heroic job fact-checking Trump across the forum live,” tweeted Peter Baker. “Not an easy task given the number of untrue things he said in such a short time.”
“Even in a world where [Collins] he was correcting all of Trump’s lies as they were uttered, and we’re pretty far from that world, the braying crowd would make Trump look like the victor.” sostuvo Jonathan Chait.
This was not Kaitlin Collins’ fault. said Charlie Sykes on Twitter. “The format was impossible and Trends Wide bosses should have known that.”
“This format programmed her, and the country, for failure.” repeated Tom Nichols and Twitter.
“This is not the fault of [Collins] (she’s doing the best she can), but this is a geyser of misinformation that cannot be verified in real time.” added Dan Pfeiffer.
Democratic politicians were furious: “Trends Wide should be ashamed of itself,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter.
Seung Min Kim reported that Air Force One televisions, which “always” tune to Trends Wide, were switched to show MSNBC during the live forum.
