CNN town hall shows the network still doesn't know how to handle Donald Trump

CNN inactive has a Donald Trump problem.

Under the enactment of caller CEO Chris Licht, the cablegram quality web wants to reimagine itself arsenic a no-nonsense, politically down-the-middle merchandise since Discovery's merger with WarnerMedia past year.

Wednesday's 70-minute municipality hallway with Trump, moderated by anchor Kaitlan Collins, was CNN's archetypal large accidental since the alteration of ownership to showcase itself arsenic a web of facts. Licht told CNBC past twelvemonth the web wants to perceive from some Democrats and Republicans, but it won't let radical to travel connected and say it's raining erstwhile it's not.

Trump has a past of peddling predetermination fraud lies — an illustration of saying it's raining erstwhile it's not. But alternatively of forcing the erstwhile president to enactment wrong the bounds of the truth, the municipality hallway acceptable up a dynamic wherever Trump ran roughshod implicit Collins, who repeatedly attempted to support him from lying passim the hour-plus event.

Collins gamely pointed retired passim the lawsuit erstwhile Trump was veering into phantasy land. That whitethorn person worked journalistically – had it not been for the information that CNN inexplicably allowed a partisan assemblage to cheer connected Trump's moving commentary passim the event. The effect of the raucous assemblage turned the municipality hallway from a perchance probing interrogation into a de facto Trump rally, undermining Collins' attempts astatine holding him to task.

At 1 point, bothered by Collins' accordant effort to tether Trump to the truth, Trump called Collins "a nasty person." The assemblage cheered.

Collins spent the archetypal 20 minutes of the municipality hallway discussing his refusal to backmost disconnected predetermination fraud claims, which person been consistently debunked by courts, predetermination experts and adjacent respective salient Republicans. She took a question from an assemblage subordinate who asked if Trump would "suspend polarizing speech of predetermination fraud" during his tally for president.

Trump seemed confused by the question.

"If I spot predetermination fraud, I deliberation I person an work to accidental it," Trump said. "But the reply is yes."

Collins followed up, "So you volition suspend talk, to his question, astir the 2020 predetermination connected the run trail?"

Trump answered with a nonanswer: "Well, I conjecture we're going to conscionable win. We're astatine a constituent now. We're getting truthful close. Let's conscionable triumph it again and straighten retired our country."

About 10 seconds later, helium followed with: "The Constitution says that we're expected to person ineligible and well-maintained and well-looked-at elections. And we didn't person that."

Collins again interjected that there's nary grounds of predetermination fraud. Trump responded by saying helium knows she has an docket but "that was a horrible election" and "unless idiosyncratic is precise stupid" earlier trailing disconnected and not finishing the thought.

In different words, Trump said he'd suspend speech astir the 2020 predetermination fraud and then, seconds later, spoke astir 2020 predetermination fraud. Moreover, helium brushed disconnected Collins' effort astatine keeping him wrong the bounds of world arsenic having an agenda.

This is the Trump occupation successful a nutshell. Live fact-checking Trump successful an interrogation is highly hard due to the fact that helium volition steamroll astir interviewers with a torrent of words.

"Tonight Kaitlan Collins exemplified what it means to beryllium a world-class journalist," CNN said successful a statement. "She asked tough, just and revealing questions. And she followed up and fact-checked President Trump successful existent clip to limb voters with important accusation astir his positions arsenic helium enters the 2024 predetermination arsenic the Republican frontrunner. That is CNN's relation and responsibility: to get answers and clasp the almighty to account."

Licht followed up Thursday greeting with an interior unit address, saying helium thought the lawsuit "absolutely, unequivocally" served America.

"You don't person to similar the president's answers but you can't accidental we didn't get them," Licht said, according to a transcript obtained by CNBC. "That's our occupation – to get answers. And we held him accountable similar nary different quality enactment successful years."

But adjacent CNN executives indispensable person realized Collins didn't truly clasp Trump to relationship connected Wednesday. Her attempts astatine keeping him connected way were admirable but tantamount to an exhausted genitor trying and failing to support her children from eating their Halloween candy aft trick-or-treating. Plus, CNN had added a assemblage of hundreds to cheer each clip a kid ate a portion of candy.

"While it might've been uncomfortable to perceive radical clapping successful effect to immoderate of the president's answers, that assemblage represents the views of a ample swath of America," Licht said. "The mistake the media made successful the past is ignoring that they exist."

The municipality hallway was palmy arsenic an lawsuit successful that it allowed CNN's assemblage to again spot Donald Trump, who is leading polls arsenic the Republican front-runner to triumph the information successful 2024. Viewers tin present marque their ain minds up astir what they saw.

Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav told CNBC past week wherefore CNN allowed Trump to enactment successful a municipality hallway contempt his past of predetermination fraud lies.

"For us, the absorption is let's get the connection right, let's get the marque right, let's the get the equilibrium right," helium told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "There are a fig of advocacy networks retired there. Our absorption is to beryllium a web of facts, the champion mentation of the facts, arsenic Carl Bernstein would say, large journalism, and not conscionable politics, but erstwhile we bash politics, we request to correspond some sides."

From an event-planning perspective, the setup of the municipality hallway didn't let for the champion mentation of facts to beryllium presented. That whitethorn beryllium an olive subdivision for Trump supporters, but it isn't the champion journalism.

WATCH: Jury finds Donald Trump did sexually maltreatment E. Jean Carroll, awards her $5 cardinal successful full damages.