The media just can’t stop showing their hands when it comes to ex-President Donald Trump: For all their screams about his threats to democracy, they hand him massive free gifts any chance they get.
Case in point: CNN’s specious “Republican primary” town hall Wednesday night, moderated by Kaitlan Collins.
Plagued with scandal and internal dissension, CNN has been tanking, ratings-wise.
How better to draw eyes than to slap the Donald on-air?
Yes, free media helps Trump, too.
(Indeed, he might never have won in 2016 without the endless coverage by CNN, MSNBC and so on.)
But our brave Defenders of Democracy are actually OK with helping Trump win the ’24 Republican nomination.
After all, with a thin bench, the Dems think he’s the candidate that an increasingly senile and unpopular Joe Biden could beat.
He’s a great turnout machine: No one inspires more hate and fear among the Dem base.
And no other Republican turns off as many independents.
Plus, his character issues and ever-expanding suite of ugly liabilities alienate plenty of normally-GOP voters, too.
Tellingly for an event supposedly meant to help GOP primary voters make up their minds, Collins ignored issues Republicans are focused on — soaring federal debt, the border mess, inflation, Dems’ energy insanity, crime.
Instead she focused on what Democrats (and Trump) obsess about: His recent civil trial for sexual assault, his pending criminal trial in Manhattan, the Capitol Riot.
Which allowed Trump to put super-smarming Collins through the woodchipper, at least in the eyes of the vast majority of Republicans, including the clapping studio audience.
CNN, that is, set up a “playing the hits” Trump performance.
As a town hall — and as journalism — the event was an utter failure.
Nothing to convince anyone, almost no matter of real substance addressed.
But as cynical politicking, by all involved, it was total perfection.
If CNN means to bootstrap Trump into the nomination it was a great start.
Yes, it’s playing with fire from one perspective: Remember 2016.
On the other hand, the entire Trump presidency was ratings gold for CNN.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
