Do you remember how TFG abused the major cable networks during the 2016 election? News organizations spent the bulk of their time and resources covering TFG while relegating the other candidates to supporting players and in doing so helped elect TFG because all the coverage helped him:

In fact, Donald Trump was the only candidate in 2016 that saw an increase in support following increased media coverage, suggesting that media coverage contributed to Trump’s primary election success. We find that media coverage drove interest and (sometimes) support for candidates, but find little evidence of the opposite relationship, demonstrating that news media are influential in setting the stage in primary elections.

After all the crap of TFG administration—families separated at the border, the Muslim ban, the farce of the Kavanaugh hearing, the fawning over Kim Jong Un, the constant abuse from his Twitter feed, his complete lack of leadership on Covid (including suggesting we could ingest bleach or stick UV lights down our throats), his attempt to infect Joe Biden with Covid at a debate, his trashing of all of the country’s international relationships, Sharpiegate, a forking INSURRECTION complete with attempts to overturn results in a number of states, etc., etc., etc.—on Monday CNN announced this:

Former President Donald Trump will participate in a CNN presidential town hall next week in New Hampshire, the network announced Monday.

“CNN This Morning” anchor Kaitlan Collins will moderate the event at St. Anselm College, which will air at 8 p.m. ET on May 10 and will feature the former president taking questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

This will be Trump’s first appearance on CNN since the 2016 presidential campaign.

Now if CNN were a capable news organization this could work. But it’s not (I wrote 2 posts at First Draft about the new leadership at CNN and Warner and what changes immediately came about.) so it won’t. CNN CEO Chris Licht has already said that he wants CNN to be less critical of FOX, so the town hall is going to be a disaster for democracy.

What’s that you say? That there will be a moderator, so someone will be there to hold TFG accountable? Well, Kaitlan Collins isn’t the person for that job. See, before CNN hired her, she worked for The Daily Caller, the right wing site originally started by Tucker Carlson. Let’s look at some of her, ahem, journalism.

First:

The Ice Bucket Challenge has gone viral lately on Facebook and Instagram, raising awareness for Lou Gehrig’s disease as people either dump a bucket of ice water on their head or donate $100 to the ALS Association. However, as with every trend, there are the hipsters who did it before everyone else. These Guantanamo Bay detainees were certainly first to do the ice bucket challenge, and it’s high time they got their due.

Or how about this headline:

The Internet Wonders: Are The Obama Girls’ Skirts Too Short?

If you’re still undecided, here’s a bit of Collins’ personal history (from 2018):

There is currently a minor civil war brewing among conservative media outlets over homophobic tweets sent by 26-year-old CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins as a college student at the University of Alabama.

The reporter’s tweets—in which she called someone a “fag” and wrote “idk if I want to room with a lesbian” in 2011—first resurfaced on Sunday evening. Shortly after the LGBTQ activist group Log Cabin Republicans drew attention to the statements on Twitter,  Collins issued an apology, calling the language “ignorant and “immature.” Matt Dormic, CNN’s Vice President of Communications and Digital Marketing, later tweeted that as “a proud gay man” he accepted her apology.

The great American philosopher, George Santayana, told us “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And so yes, we’re doomed.

Split Enz can take it from here.