Will Kaitlin Collins take Trump to task?
Kaitlin Collins will host a CNN town hall from New Hampshire featuring GOP front runner Donald Trump. It will be a depressing event. How could it not be? Isn’t the show exhausted yet? Isn’t the schtick old?
Kaitlin Collins will be the ringmaster of an event that seeks ratings and interest from the American people for the purpose of making money. It is important to remember that. What is the nature of the event? Is it about the public interest, or is it about business?
Certainly it is the case that the American media is more loathed and distrusted than it has ever been. According to a Gallup/Knight Foundation survey released this past February, only 26 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the news media — the lowest level they have recorded in the past five years — while 53 percent hold an unfavorable view. The survey also found that 50 percent of Americans feel most national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public.
The lie and truth are indistinguishable to vast segments of American society who have been poisoned by misinformation and conflict journalism that seeks inflammation, not illumination. There is no predator who lurks more ominously within this vast sea of sludge and toxicity than Donald Trump. He hates the American system of government, laws, rules and norms, which has rebuked his untamable narcissism and lust for power. He despises the overwhelming majority of Americans who rejected his leadership and fired him in the election of 2020. He wants retribution and has made it clear that revenge animates his lust for a return to power.
Who does he want to punish in his search for vengeance? Us. He wants to punish us. He wants to hurt the American people.
The questions that Kaitlin Collins asks and moderates aren’t just important, they are essential. In fact, they are crucial for the survival of American democracy, which has always been defended by an imperfect, often corrupt and sometimes partisan-free press. Kaitlin Collins has arrived at a moment that is definitional for her, Trump and America. This is a big event, and it will be even bigger if no one watches. What would that mean? Maybe the answer would be the actual news.
Is everyone ready for another season of the Trump show? Cue Omarosa? Where’s Kayleigh McEnany and Jeffrey Lord? Who else is worn down and exhausted?
What questions will be put to the credibly accused rapist, twice-impeached and recently indicted Trump? Will the focus be on issues, policy or his threats, delusions and anger?
What will be the first question that Kaitlin Collins asks the former president who incited an insurrection, and has promised to be the retribution his supporters deserve? Should it be about minimum wage? Social security?