The planned CNN town hall meeting before a friendly crowd of Trump supporters in Goffstown, New Hampshire, scheduled for tonight, must be canceled. It could be argued that although the former President is facing a 34-count indictment in New York, he is innocent until proven guilty. It could also be argued that the almost certain charges from Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis—for attempting to overturn an election are still speculation, and canceling his appearance is premature. Further, the two investigations by special counsel Jack Smith for the federal charges of stealing government documents and starting an insurrection are the machinations of what Mr. Trump calls a “witch hunt.”
Yesterday Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. It is no longer speculation that he is a sexual predator, which is precisely why he should be disqualified from the public discourse. “Unfortunately or fortunately” is also why CNN will not cancel. Having learned nothing from the fawning normalization of 2016 by the likes of MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, CNN executives are dreaming of a rating bonanza. Moderator Kaitlin Collins will be tasked with wrangling the lies and insults hurled at her in rapid succession from Mr. Trump. Collins reported being called on the carpet after being kicked out of an Oval Office photo-op for asking ‘inappropriate’ questions. Trump repeatedly called CNN “fake news,” targeting Collins in particular.
Despite it all, Kaitlin Collins will be reduced to playing nice with the former President. As he did with E. Jean Carroll and her lawyer, Trump will try to debase Ms. Collins. Mr. Trump’s defense in the civil trial—where he was found liable was that neither Ms. Carroll nor her counsel, Roberta Kaplan, were his type. The natural assumption is that were they attractive to him; he would assault them. The outsized normalization of Mr. Trump, especially in the Republican party, is only explained by tribalism. The GOP has been captured by the cruelty of politics, and sexual assault plays into the narrative of control and abuse. While Democrats were repulsed by the idea of migrant children in cages and the possible permanent separation of kids from their parents, Republicans painted it as the price of stopping the brown horde. The GOP looks upon the routine murders of children in schools or shopping malls as the price of freedom.
Curiosity killed the cat
The problem with the continued curiosity about the Trump show is that it could kill our nation. Following the first time a former or sitting president has been found liable in a sexual assault case, CNN will probably get a big rating boost. I will guilt watch the town hall partly because I feel obligated to the people who follow me to write about it and partly because who knows what is next. Famously in the movie about the life of radio host Howard Stern, the question of why you listen was asked to the people who liked his show and those who disliked him; the answer came back the same, to hear what he says next. Trump has ceased to be funny or relevant to the body politic. He has become a threat to democracy and a totem for racism and hate. CNN, you can do better.
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