CNN took a rightward turn when Chris Licht took over, and now the network has the gall to host a town hall for accused rapist Donald J. Trump, who is also responsible for the attack on our Capitol. Sure, normalize violence. What could go wrong? MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan named the top ten questions CNN should ask the indicted one-termer. Kaitlan Collins, grab a pencil, please.
"I do hope CNN chief Chris Licht doesn't have to end up apologizing for giving Trump this platform in the same way that his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, had to apologize for running all those Trump rallies uninterrupted on CNN back in 2016," Hasan said. "Personally, I wouldn't interview a man who has used live interviews to incite violence and tell lies, who has in the past encouraged violence against CNN itself."
"I wouldn't normalize him in that way," he continued. "But if you are going to interview him, you need to have some very tough and very specific questions."
"Here are 10 questions I would ask Donald Trump if I had to do an interview with him, and that CNN should consider posing to the indicted former president next week," the MSNBC host said.
"Number one, the president of the United States has to swear an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," he said. "You are on record, Mr. Trump, just a few months ago calling for the termination of parts of the Constitution. So you have disqualified yourself from the presidency, have you not?"
"Number two, many would argue that you, Mr. Trump, disqualified yourself from the presidency on January the 6th, 2021, when you incited a mob to march on Congress and fight like hell," he continued. "A mob you knew was armed, a mob you beckoned to Washington, D.C., a mob that included Proud Boys since convicted of sedition."
"And on the day itself, it wasn't just Fox hosts like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingram who sent texts to your chief of staff demanding you condemn the violence, but also your own son Don Jr," he said. "So why didn't you? And why did your own son have to beg you to condemn the rioters?"
"Number three, on January the 6th, more than 140 police officers were injured by your supporters," Hasan said. They suffered brain injuries, cracked ribs, one lost part of his finger. And yet you, Mr. Trump, have repeatedly vowed to pardon the people who did that to them and even took part in a music video with some of them. Why would any American who believes in law and order, who supports the police, vote for you?"
"Number four, you were caught on tape just last month hugging a domestic terrorist, a woman convicted for her role in the January 6th riots," he continued. "Again, why should anyone who believes in law and order, who supports the police, supports democracy, vote for you, given your open and deliberate support for convicted criminals?"
"Number five, in January of 2021, as part of what many call your coup attempt, you told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in what you've called a perfect phone call to find you extra votes, 11,780 to be precise," he noted.
"And you also claimed in that call that 5,000 dead people voted in Georgia, even though a study commissioned by your own campaign found a day before that call that only nine so-called dead voters had cast ballots in Georgia in 2020," he added.
The other five questions are just as brutal. You can hear them all in the clip. As I noted in another post, Trump should not be afforded softball questions. Stop coddling the very man who tried to overturn the election that he knew he lost to Joe Biden.
Stop cozying up to the first former President in history who started a platform to bash his successor daily. Former Presidents want their successors to be influential leaders out of love for our country. Trump is the first President in my lifetime who shows open disdain for the country he once led.
