Dear MoveOn member,
It's outrageous, John: CNN is providing Donald Trump an exclusive, prime-time platform this week to spread his lies and extremism at a town hall in New Hampshire.1
None of his competitors will be present. Nor will any reporters fact-check his violent and hateful lies and distortions. Just a moderator taking questions from sympathetic New Hampshire voters who plan to vote in the Republican primary.
CNN clearly hasn't learned its lesson from 2016 or has simply decided to put its ratings and profits ahead of the safety of our democracy and country.
Either way, we can't let CNN get away with giving Trump further free and unchecked airtime—which will serve only to legitimize him as a leader, when in reality, he's an indicted, twice-impeached, insurrectionist-plotting sore loser.
That's why MoveOn is launching an emergency campaign to pressure CNN to stop kowtowing to Donald Trump. We cannot allow a repeat of 2016. We need to ramp up the pressure right now and keep it up—not only to stop CNN's dangerous money grab but also to discourage other networks from doing the same.
Which is why we're asking you to please start a $5 monthly donation to our emergency campaign. If we raise enough resources, we'll organize in-person rallies outside CNN headquarters, produce and place hard-hitting TV ads on CNN itself, and mobilize people across the country to express their outrage to the network via phone calls and social media and to keep on pressuring CNN for as long as it takes.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
In 2016, CNN and other major news networks gave the former insurrectionist-in-chief nearly $2 billion in free advertising, helping to normalize his sexism, white supremacy, and hate with voters across the country.2
And since then, CNN has continued to uplift Trump and his violent and hateful lies.
While most major news outlets chose to skip broadcasting Trump's 2024 announcement speech, CNN, for the sake of its ratings and profits, decided to broadcast his speech live—giving Trump unregulated reign over the airwaves.
At the heart of it, CNN's reckless pursuit of ratings and profits is a threat to our democracy and freedoms.
Since announcing his candidacy for reelection, Trump has promised to:
Trump is an ever-looming threat to our freedoms, democracy, and the world at large, and it's shockingly irresponsible for CNN to give him unlimited and unchecked airtime.
That's why MoveOn has launched an emergency campaign to hold CNN's feet to the fire once and for all—for as long as it takes—to make the network answer for its decision to uplift Trump time and time again, from the run-up to the 2016 election to the January 6 insurrection to this week's town hall. Can you start a $5 monthly gift to support and sustain the campaign?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
It's long past time to stop giving Trump free airtime to spin his conspiracy theories and lies. Unlike with right-wing propaganda channels, there is a real opportunity to use negative attention and pressure tactics to change CNN's behavior. Which is why MoveOn is prepared to go all in on this campaign.
Let's not repeat 2016.
Thanks for all you do.
–David, Tzyh, Kelsey, Erica, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "The Memo: CNN's Trump town hall reignites debate over media coverage," The Hill, May 5, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/172235?t=6&akid=351755%2E40999114%2E7KMERB
2. "$2 Billion Worth of Free Media for Donald Trump," The New York Times, March 15, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/169648?t=8&akid=351755%2E40999114%2E7KMERB
3. "Trump vows pardons, government apology to Capitol rioters if elected," The Washington Post, September 1, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/172236?t=10&akid=351755%2E40999114%2E7KMERB
4. "Trump 2024: Bring Back the 'Muslim Ban'—and Expand It," Rolling Stone, May 5, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/172237?t=12&akid=351755%2E40999114%2E7KMERB
Want to support MoveOn's work? Voters just defied history and stopped a MAGA wave of extremism at the polls. But there is more work to do to end the filibuster, codify abortion rights into law, and defend our freedoms, our families, and our futures. We can accomplish all this and more, but only if we work together.
Will you chip in monthly to power our critical work?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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