[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition immediately: Donald Trump should not get free airtime on
CNN or other news networks!
Dear MoveOn members,
CNN is providing Donald Trump an exclusive, prime-time platform in his
campaign for president.^1
The cable news network is hosting a televised town hall on May 10 with
Trump in New Hampshire, an early primary state for the GOP nomination and
perennial battleground state for the presidency.
They're giving Trump free airtime to spin his lies, without even a single
Republican challenger present.
[ [link removed] ]Tell CNN and all national media outlets: STOP giving Trump free
airtime!
CNN: Stop giving Donald Trump—a seditionist, QAnon conspiracy theorist,
and spreader of disinformation—free airtime on cable news!
[3]Sign the petition
CNN's ill-conceived town hall demonstrates that the U.S. press has not
learned its lesson in covering Trump—or perhaps has only learned that his
heinous antics are good for ratings.
In 2016, major news networks gave Donald Trump $2 billion in free
advertising.^2 Seven years later, they are doing it again. When Donald
Trump announced he was running for president in 2024, CNN covered his
announcement speech live, just like FOX News did, essentially giving him
free rein to dominate airwaves and reach viewers with his narcissistic
brand of conspiracy theories and abuse. Meanwhile, ABC, CBS, and NBC all
passed on airing the speech live.^3 After Trump arrived home to Mar-a-Lago
after turning himself in on criminal charges, CNN ran Trump's speech live
for 23 minutes of the 24-minute rant, while the likes of NPR and MSNBC
skipped it.^4,5
All of this free air time does Trump's work for him and legitimizes him as
a real politician, instead of the indicted, twice-impeached sore loser
that he is. It's time for CNN and the rest of the media to treat him as
such.
[ [link removed] ]Click here to add your name to this petition, which we will deliver to
CNN, and then pass it along to your friends.
CNN's Trump fixation is part of a calculated pattern for both CNN and
Trump. For years, Trump railed against CNN as "fake news" and boycotted
the network. But he realizes that reaching viewers outside the right-wing
echo chamber will be necessary to win back an office he attempted to take
by inciting an insurrection. Meanwhile, CNN is trying to prop up its
ratings and appeal to the "center."
But there's nothing "centrist" about Trump. Just last week, he recommitted
to banning Muslims from entering the U.S. if he retakes the White House.^6
At this very moment, he is on trial for sexual assault in New York City,
where he has also been charged with 34 other felonies. He continues to
reject the reality that he lost the 2020 election, and he's being
investigated in multiple jurisdictions for crimes stemming from that lie.
He is a danger to our country, our communities, and our world.
Donald Trump is a coward. He's afraid of sharing a stage with the other
announced challengers for the GOP nomination, which is why he has already
signaled that he will likely skip the GOP primary debates that FOX is
hosting this fall.^7 And he recently threw a tantrum after a journalist
asked him about potential criminal charges against him in Georgia.^8 This
CNN town hall will be moderated by a respected journalist, but there's no
way to adequately fact-check someone who lies about every little thing.
Thanks for all you do.
–Justin, Valeria, Isbah, David, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Why CNN Gave Trump a Prime-Time Town Hall—And Why Trump Accepted,"
Vanity Fair, May 2, 2023
[link removed]
2. "$2 Billion Worth of Free Media for Donald Trump," The New York Times,
March 15, 2016
[link removed]
3. "Broadcast networks take a pass on Trump campaign announcement," The
Washington Post, November 15, 2022
[link removed]
4. "CNN chose to air almost the entirety of Trump’s lie-filled Mar-a-Lago
rally," Media Matters for America, April 4, 2023
[link removed]
5. "MSNBC doesn't carry Trump Mar-a-Lago speech" The Hill, April 5, 2023
[link removed]
6. "Trump recommits to banning Muslims from entering US if he is
re-elected," The Independent, April 28, 2023
[link removed]
7. "Trump may skip the first GOP primary debates," NBC News, May 2, 2023
[link removed]
8. "Why CNN Gave Trump a Prime-Time Town Hall—And Why Trump Accepted,"
Vanity Fair, May 2, 2023
[link removed]
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[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.
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