Donald Trump appeared on CNN for the network’s town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday. The event was hosted by Kaitlan Collins, who is being dubbed as the Chris Licht-led channel’s new face.

The two-odd hours of questions, answers, and parley was Trump’s first big step towards gaining GOP support. He is expected to go against a not-yet-announced Florida Governor Ron De Santis in the primaries.

The town hall was a test for Collins too. Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo are gone and CNN needs a new face for their 9 PM primetime. The ‘This Morning’ host was moderating the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign.

Also read: Video of Trump dancing to Village People’s Macho Man at Mar-a-Lago goes viral

How did the two do: Donald Trump vs Kaitlan Collins

CNN started facing boycott calls immediately after Donald Trump’s town hall appearance was announced. A Manhattan federal jury on Tuesday determined that the former President is liable for battery and defamation in the E Jean Carroll civil lawsuit. Jurors awarded the author $5 million.

Trump is also accused of paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, of tampering with election results in Georgia, hiding federal documents in his Florida house, misrepresenting his net worth and inciting the January 6 Capitol violence.

Right-wing Fox News would host him and support the 76-year-old’s radical views in the gun violence vs mental health debate and abortion ban. However, left-leaning CNN not only hosted Trump but also got in an audience that applauded his false remarks on election fraud.

Also read: Did CNN CEO Chris Licht offered Kaitlan Collins a primetime job ahead of Donald Trump townhall?

The network had announced that they were getting a ‘live audience made up of Republicans and undeclared voters who tend to take part in New Hampshire’s Republican primary’. Collins put the same in her introductory remarks.

However, it came right back to bite her. People at the venue clapped even when Trump was going at her, even calling Collins ‘a nasty woman’ at the end.

“CNN should be ashamed of themselves. They have lost total control of this ‘town hall’ to again be manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan 6th, and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York tweeted midway through the town hall.

Trump was consistent throughout the program. He started off by refusing to concede the 2020 election. The Republican then slammed Nancy Pelosi and Muriel Bowser for the January 6 Capitol violence.

He did lean a little right but mostly stayed on the fence when asked about gun laws and abortion.

“I’m looking at a solution that’s going to work. The very complex issue for the country. You have people on both sides of an issue, but we are now in a very strong position. Pro-life people are in a strong position to make a deal that’s going to be good and going to be satisfactory for them,” Trump said.

Also read: CNN slammed after Donald Trump gets standing ovation, applause at Kaitlan Collins-led townhall

Donald Trump leads the GOP primary polls. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released Sunday showed that 43% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents named him unprompted when asked who they would like to see the party nominate in 2024. About 20% went with DeSantis, and 2% or less chose other candidates.

On one hand, Trump managed to somewhat fulfill his agenda in the town hall, on the other, CNN has taken a huge blow. As per mediaite.com‘s report on May 10, the network trailed both MSNBC and Fox News in terms of ratings.

Who won Trump vs Collins? Clearly, the former President did.