Anderson Cooper acknowledges public anger over CNN town hall — but has a dire warning

Following their town hall with Donald Trump at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire on Wednesday, CNN has come under furious criticism from media analysts, including some of their own reporters, for putting on the event at all, as well as for failing to get a handle on the former president's lies and his efforts to radicalize the crowd of Republican voters.

On Thursday evening, speaking to the nation at the start of his nightly broadcast, CNN's Anderson Cooper addressed the criticism, acknowledging much of it was valid, but also trying to explain what the network was trying to do — and warning people to understand the most important takeaway of what they saw the night before.

"Before we begin with tonight's broadcast, I want to say something about what we witnessed at last night's town hall," said Cooper. "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."

"It was disturbing to see and hear that person refer to a Black law enforcement officer as a 'thug,' an adjective he used many times to describe Black men, and call Kaitlan Collins, the moderator, 'nasty,' which is what he calls any woman who stands up to him," Cooper continued. "It was disturbing to hear him speak to highly of QAnon conspirators who assaulted officers on January 6th. And it was awful to hear him spread lies about the election. And young and old, fellow citizens, people who love their kids and go to church, laugh and applaud his lies and his continued defamation of a woman who, according to a jury of his peers, he sexually abused and defamed. As good a job as Kaitlan Collins did trying to fact-check him, it is impossible to fact-check fully because he lies so shamelessly."

"Now, many of you think CNN shouldn't have given him any platform to speak," said Cooper. "And I understand the anger about that, giving him the audience, the time. I get that. But this is what I also think. The man you heard from last night, that man is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president. And according to polling, no other Republican is even close. That man you were so upset to hear from last night, he may be President of the United States in less than two years. And that audience that upset you, that's a sampling of about half the country. They are your family members, your neighbors, and they are voting. And many said they're voting for him. Now, maybe you haven't been paying attention to him since he left office. Maybe you've been enjoying not hearing from him, thinking it can't happen again, some investigation is going to stop him. Well, it hasn't so far. So if last night showed anything, it showed it can happen again. It is happening again. He hasn't changed, and he is running hard."

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"You have every right to be outraged today, and angry, and never watch this network again," Cooper added. "But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away? 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. If you're angry or upset, I understand, but you have the power to do something about it. You can actually get involved. You can make a difference, whatever side of the aisle you're on. After last night, none of us can say, I didn't know what's out there, I didn't know what's coming."

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Anderson Cooper addresses public backlash to Trump town hall www.youtube.com