Megyn Kelly said CNN’s Kaitlan Collins was “ill-equipped” to deal with former President Donald Trump during Wednesday night’s town hall, which “quickly spun out of control” and turned into a “train wreck.”
“It failed on every front except one,” Kelly said during Thursday’s episode of her SiriusXM podcast, “The Megyn Kelly Show.”
“It was wildly successful in giving Donald Trump an hour of free airtime to make his case without laying a glove on him.”
Kelly added: “Congrats, CNN.”
Collins and CNN were widely criticized by staffers who work at the network as well as pundits from MSNBC and other liberal news organizations.
Critics said Collins was “steamrolled” by Trump as he repeated claims about the 2020 presidential election and mocked E. Jean Carroll, the columnist who recently won a $5 million lawsuit against the former president, whom she accused of rape.
Kelly said that “fact-checking” Trump is “nearly impossible in a live event” because “he will say whatever he wants.”
The former Fox News star said Collins “did a decent job of trying to correct certain things” but erred when she “injected her opinion, disguised as fact checks, in there.”
“Why did she say the 2020 election wasn’t rigged? What does ‘rigged’ mean?” Kelly said.
“Who is she to declare to GOP voters — 63% of whom do not believe [President] Biden legitimately won the election — that all was fair and square?” Kelly asked.
“She wanted to appease CNN’s existing audience and her media critics.”
Kelly also lambasted Collins for asking Trump about topics that “only liberals” wanted to hear about.
“Where were the questions about inflation or the banking crisis and what to do about it?” Kelly asked.
“She spent three minutes on the economy and 20 on January 6th and the last election.”
Kelly said Collins should have asked Trump why he didn’t fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert, and “whether he regrets the lockdowns.”
“Kaitlan Collins exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist,” a CNN spokesperson told The Post.
“She asked tough, fair and revealing questions.”
“And she followed up and fact-checked President Trump in real time to arm voters with crucial information about his positions as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican front-runner,” the spokesperson added.
“That is CNN’s role and responsibility: to get answers and hold the powerful to account.”
Collins defended the network for the town hall that she moderated with Trump, calling it “a major inflection point in the Republican Party’s search for its nominee.”
“Good evening and thanks for joining me. About last night…,” Collins, who has been criticized by viewers and pundits over the town hall, said at the start of the 9 p.m. show that she hosted on CNN on Thursday.
“The 70 minutes that I spent on stage in New Hampshire with former President Donald Trump was a major inflection point in the Republican Party’s search for its nominee, and potentially the starting line for America’s next presidential race.”
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
