Former President Donald Trump suggested in a new interview that he knows he needs corporate media to cover his campaign in order to have a chance at winning in 2024.
Since the end of the 2020 election, the former commander-in-chief has largely given interviews to conservative media outlets and podcasters, and he has not returned to Twitter—a social media platform that he used effectively in the 2016 campaign cycle.
In public comments and on social media, Trump and his conservative allies said the CNN town hall was a success and showed the former president as a dominant force within the GOP.
“I was amazed to see that they were traumatized by what took place. They were actually traumatized,” the former president said on Monday about the CNN staffers’ reactions. “They should have said, ‘We had a tremendous ratings night, one of the best in years, many years,’ and spiked the football.”
His recent comments were made days after partaking in a CNN town hall-style broadcast last Wednesday night, which was largely criticized by left-wing lawmakers and media pundits. Some within CNN, like media reporter Oliver Darcy, also panned the network for holding the town hall.
After new CEO Chris Licht took over last year, the company has parted ways with several of its hosts, including former media reporter Brian Stelter, and recently, anchor Don Lemon. Licht reportedly defended the town hall in a conference call with staffers last week, arguing that half of the country supports or will likely support Trump and deserve to have their voices heard.
Trump also said that Fox News could generate a similar ratings boost if they would stop focusing on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has signaled he may be readying a 2024 presidential bid. Trump again derided DeSantis, claiming that he has “no personality” and weak political instincts.
In the wake of the 2020 election, Trump blasted Fox News for calling the presidential race in Arizona for Joe Biden and has suggested his viewers stop watching the channel. Meanwhile, about three weeks ago, Fox News issued a news release saying that it had parted ways with Carlson, the formerly top-rated primetime host, without offering any explanation.
“For more than 21 years, Fox News Channel has been cable news’ most-watched network in all categories with more Democrats, Independents and Republicans now tuning in than either CNN or MSNBC,” the company stated. “Attracting more than 50 percent of the cable news viewing audience with the top 12 programs in cable news, Fox News’ powerhouse team of journalists, analysts and opinion hosts are trusted more by viewers than any other news source.”
However, neither “Hannity” nor Laura Ingraham’s show, which airs at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively, were able to crack 2 million viewers, the data show. “Fox News Tonight,” which was hosted by Kayleigh McEnany, a former Trump press secretary, also only drew 1.39 million. Carlson averaged more than 3 million viewers in all of 2022.