Megyn Kelly said CNN’s Kaitlan Collins was “ill-equipped” to handle former President Donald Trump at Wednesday night’s town hall, which “rapidly spiraled out of control” and turned into a “train wreck.”
“It failed on every front except one,” Kelly said on Thursday’s episode of her SiriusXM podcast, “The Megyn Kelly Show.”
“Giving Donald Trump an hour of free airtime to make his case without putting a glove on him was hugely successful.”
Kelly added: “Congratulations, CNN.”
Collins and CNN received widespread criticism from staffers working at the network, as well as experts from MSNBC and other liberal news organizations.
Critics said Collins was “steamed off” by Trump when he repeated his claims about the 2020 presidential election and mocked E. Jean Carroll, the columnist who recently won a $5 million lawsuit against the former president, accusing them of rape.
Kelly said that “fact-checking” Trump is “almost impossible at a live event” because “he will say whatever he wants”.
The former Fox News star said Collins “was trying to correct certain things quite a bit,” but made a mistake when she “injected her opinion disguised as fact-checks.”
Why did she say the 2020 election was not rigged? What does ‘rigged up’ mean?” Kelly said.
“Who is she to declare to GOP voters — 63% of whom don’t believe [President] Biden legitimately won the election – that everything was fair and honest?” Kelly asked.
“She wanted to appease CNN’s existing audience and its media critics.”
Kelly also berated 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?” Kelly asked.
“She spent three minutes on the economy and twenty on January 6 and the last election.”
Kelly said Collins should have asked Trump why he had Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert, has not fired 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 hard, honest and revealing questions.”
“And she tracked and monitored President Trump in real time to provide voters with critical information about his positions as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican front-runner,” the spokesperson added.
“That’s CNN’s role and responsibility: getting answers and holding the powerful accountable.”
Collins defended the city hall network she co-hosted with Trump, calling it “a major turning point in the Republican Party’s search for its nominee.”
“Good evening and thank you for joining me. About last night…,” Collins, who has been criticized by viewers and pundits for being town hall, said at the start of the 9 p.m. show she hosted on CNN Thursday.
“The 70 minutes I spent onstage in New Hampshire with former President Donald Trump marked a major turning point in the Republican Party’s search for its nominee, and possibly the starting line for America’s next presidential race.”
