The Biggest Loser: CNN

Get the Point!

When all was said and done, the biggest loser during last night's Town Hall forum featuring former President Donald Trump on CNN was, well, CNN.

As I wrote yesterday, I understand "why" CNN gave former President Trump a primetime slot to repeatedly whack the very network that he calls "Fake News"—to the delight of a room filled with MAGA Republicans in New Hampshire—which is high viewership ratings to help fill its corporate coffers!

But as one who has moderated at least two dozen candidate forums over the past decade, my sympathy goes to CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins 😢; despite her admirable professionalism, Collins was sent to “walk the plank” and interview a 76-year old man who acts like a temperamental toddler on his best days, and is oft petty and acerbic in the way he talks to women.

Circa 2016, Ol' Hobbs moderated a political debate featuring candidates in multiple state and Federal offices in North Florida along with then Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and famed Civil Rights lawyer Benjamin Crump at our home Bethel AME Church…

Not trying to boast, but I assure you that Trump would not have been able to "loud talk" Ol' Hobbs, or evade my cross examination when he got squirrelly and refused to answer the hard questions.  

Still, when I sat down to watch last night's circus, I did so with three main curiosities:

1. Has Trump, pushing closer to 80 years old each day, matured beyond his pre-school antics and puerile behavior? (No, he has not...)

2. Has Trump finally developed even a basic understanding of political policies from the conservative perspective? (No, not in the least...)

3. Will Trump show any semblance of humility about the myriad legal issues that he is facing? (Not at ALL).

As to my first concern, it was "deja vu all over again," as the late NY Yankees great Yogi Berra once quipped, watching Trump calling his political adversaries "crazy," "stupid," or "dumb." As one who grew up watching venerable journalists like Walter Cronkite interview both Republican and Democratic political figures in a mutually collegial manner, it disgusts me now, just as it disgusted me during his one term, to see a former president look and sound like a B-list comedian in a forum that's supposed to be serious. Trump's comedy act is worn out and to be frank, it seems as if he is still projecting his very own shortcomings (crazy, stupid, dumb) while verbally attacking his political opponents. 

Trump pulled out copies of social media posts from January 6th that he thought would prove that he pushed for peace and security, but he looked dazed and confused when moderator Kaitlan Collins showed that he sent those Tweets over two hours after the Capitol Complex had been invaded—at his behest!

As to my second concern, since 2015, I have consistently stated that Donald Trump is one of the least knowledgeable conservatives to ever run and win the GOP nomination. When you push past his clownish humor and listen for substance, you see that he has very little and is often clueless about what he is supposed to advocate per conservative dogma. 

One minute during the forum, Trump is all for raising the debt ceiling (progressive viewpoint), while the next minute he is saying that Republicans should hold firm until deep spending cuts are agreed to by Democrats (conservative viewpoint). One minute, he is praising the end of Roe vs. Wade (conservative viewpoint), while the next minute he is promising to negotiate longer windows within which safe abortions could be secured for women (progressive viewpoint).

The reason Trump is so wishy-washy is because he is utterly clueless and from the first, viewed the presidency as some popularity contest to spite Barack Obama and Joe Biden, not a serious calling with serious consequences for his acts. 

Finally, as to my third concern, Trump was disgraceful last night as he joked about the $5 million dollar verdict that he was taxed for sexually abusing and defaming journalist E. Jean Carroll, a woman who he mocked on stage to the laughing delight of the MAGA Republicans that CNN solely invited to the forum last night (there should have been Democrats and independent voters in the audience as well). Trump also spent the first five minutes of the forum spreading his lies that the 2020 election was stolen, this despite the fact that, contrary to his lies, not a single Republican governor backs his belief that the elections were rigged and stolen—and even his own three Supreme Court nominees refused to vote in his favor on election matters during the certification period. 

Perhaps even worse, Trump shamefully stated as follows about the deadly MAGA riot that he launched: "January 6th was a wonderful, peaceful, beautiful day…The problem is that crazy Nancy Pelosi and the DC Mayor turned down my offer for security…I offered them 10,000 soldiers and they turned it down."

Not only was that a detestable lie that he had to stand down on when CNN's Collins pushed back with receipts that he offered security several hours after the damage was already done, but as I posted on Facebook right after his remarks, "If it was such a wonderful, peaceful, beautiful day, Mr. Trump, why would 10,000 soldiers even be needed?" 

Trump had the unmitigated gall to call five deaths and $50 million dollars in damages “peaceful.”

To conclude, I harbor no illusions about who Mr. Trump is and I am convinced that his most loyal followers, those who are not very serious about politics or others who, regrettably, only care about the fact that Trump is able to say and do all of the racist and misogynistic comments and things that they cannot, will vote for him in droves in the Republican Primary.

It doesn't matter that there are far more serious and intelligent conservatives, like former South Carolina Gov. Nimrata "Nikki Haley" Randawha and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, already in the race because it's been clear for quite some time that the average GOP voter wants to be entertained while having their own white supremacy biases against Blacks, Mexicans, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community vindicated more than they want to be led by a decent human being. 

But I comment on these matters so that those Republicans among my readership who know that a second Trump administration is a disaster waiting to happen, and the Democrats and Independents who may not like or agree with all of Joe Biden's politics or political actions, but are aware enough to realize that the current president is not a hateful, spiteful, petty, and insecure little man, will put common sense and decency at the forefront and vote for Biden/Harris in the 2024 general election!