CNN’s Anderson Cooper took serious incoming on Thursday after he used his opening monologue to defend the network’s decision to host a town hall with Donald Trump the previous night.
During the 70-minute question-and-answer session with Republicans and Republican-leaning voters in New Hampshire, moderator Kaitlan Collins repeatedly fact-checked and tried to rein in Trump, who at one point called her a “nasty person.” Predictably, Trump lied over and over, which Cooper acknowledged. Nevertheless, he said, the town hall was important.
“Before we begin with tonight’s broadcast, I want to say something about what we witnessed at last night’s town hall,” he began. “Many of you have expressed deep anger and disappointment. Many of you are upset that someone who attempted to destroy our democracy was invited to sit on a stage in front of a crowd of Republican voters to answer questions and predictably, continued to spew lie after lie after lie. And I get it. It was disturbing.”
However, he later said it is crucial for those lies to be publicly challenged.
“But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?” Cooper added. “If we all only listen to those we agree with, it may actually do the opposite. If lies are allowed to go unchecked, as imperfect as our ability to check them is on a stage in real-time, those lies continue and those lies spread.”
The defense of his network did not go over well with liberals on Twitter, who pilloried the the host. Many critics said CNN is no under no obligation to platform a serial liar. Others disagreed with his framing of the town hall.
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