Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:54 pm
CNN did their best to try to humanize Donald Trump with a New York town hall, but the result was a disaster that showed why Trump is unelectable.
The Trump family town hall on CNN began with the now standard Donald Trump whining about the delegate process, claiming that NATO was obsolete, and promising to deliver a policy speech on that hot-button issue of unity.
Anderson Cooper brought out Trump’s family and things quickly ventured into Stepford territory.
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The Trump kids were full of talking points. Ivanka Trump talked about what a dealmaker her father was. Donald Trump Jr. talked about the frustration of the electorate after 2008 and 2012. Eric Trump called his dad’s campaign an amazing success story because he has only been in politics for eight months. Tiffany Trump said that her father is a hard worker. Ivanka Trump later said that the Trump family is not a family of politicians.
Eric Trump was asked about what he bonded with his father over, and he answered work. He said, “We love building. We love concrete. We love jobs.”
Ivanka Trump tried to solve her dad’s problem with female voters by saying, “I think the facts speak for themselves. I have witnessed the female role models that he has employed in the highest executive positions in the Trump organization my entire life.” Eric Trump praised his dad for being authentic and writing his own tweets.
What became obvious early on in the town hall was that for a family whose gimmick is that they are political outsiders, they were very well rehearsed on the campaign’s talking points.
The problem was that the Trump family made the creepy Romney clan of 2012 seem like the warm, friendly neighbors next door. The Trump family wants you the voter to know that they love their dad and that they think he will make America great. The Obama family has always given off a warmth in their interviews. There was no warmth to the Trump town hall.
If the purpose of the CNN town hall was to humanize Trump, it was a disaster. If this is the man that represents the Republican Party in the general election, the GOP is seriously screwed.
The fake was overwhelming during the town hall. The town hall was all about selling Trump as a president. It was impossible to find a genuine moment between Trump and his family. The Trump family gave a stump speech for Donald Trump.
CNN gave Trump a platform to show his warmer side. Instead, the Trump family tried to close the deal and sell the voters on Donald Trump as the next president.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
