Coup-attempting former President Donald Trump doubled down Wednesday on his lies about the 2020 election and his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol and claimed, again, that his vice president had “done something wrong” by not declaring Trump the winner of the election he had lost.
“That was a rigged election,” Trump lied, barely two minutes into a “town hall” hosted for him by CNN.
Responding to a question about why he waited three hours before telling his mob of followers to stop attacking the Capitol, Trump falsely claimed he had done so soon after 2 p.m.
In just the first half hour of the 90-minute broadcast, Trump also defended his claim that women allow celebrities to sexually assault them, mocked and ridiculed the magazine writer a jury found on Tuesday had been sexually abused by Trump, confirmed that he would pardon his supporters who have been convicted for their actions on Jan. 6, and said that the United States should go ahead and default on its debt.
Michael Fanone, a former Washington, D.C., police officer who was assaulted and nearly killed by Trump’s mob that day and is now a CNN contributor, said he was appalled by what he saw. “It’s worse than I could have ever imagined. It’s an absolute disaster,” Fanone said. “There’s no way to fact-check this guy in real time. He’s a volcano of bullshit.”
In reality, that taped video message was not released until 4:17 p.m. — hours after his supporters had broken into the building while assaulting police officers.
Trump’s campaign has tried to use his agreement to do CNN’s town hall as evidence that he is unafraid of tough questions, unlike his closest rival in the polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not declared his candidacy but has become famous for avoiding interviews from all but the most friendly news outlets.
Nevertheless, Trump himself portrayed CNN’s decision to host him as proof that even organizations that had been critical of him understand that they need him to boost viewership.
“CNN is rightfully desperate to get those fantastic Trump ratings back. They were ratings like none other, and they want them back. They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse,” he said in a video statement he posted to his personal social media platform earlier Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, though, Trump appeared to threaten CNN that it had better be nice to him if it wanted to continue having him on its shows. “They must treat MAGA, the greatest political movement in our Country’s history, with respect,” he said in a Wednesday afternoon post.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
