CNN Prepares for Trump’s Return

Playbook: “It was always going to be a consequential moment for Trump and for CNN, but it suddenly became even weightier yesterday after jurors in Manhattan sided with journalist E. Jean Carroll’s claim that Trump had forced himself on her nearly three decades ago in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.”

“As is so often the case with Trump, it’s worth putting in perspective just how bonkers the circumstances are and just how crippling they would be for any other political figure. Instead, of course, Trump is vowing to charge ahead — launching what is likely to be a long appeals process and continuing to test his old supposition that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue (or at least be found civilly liable for a sexual assault on Fifth Avenue) without suffering a political price.”

“Tonight, he’ll be confronted on national television about all of it — facing Collins and GOP primary voters at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm College. The town hall comes as Trump continues to devour the Republican presidential field despite a criminal indictment and multiple ongoing investigations into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”

“At the center of the drama will be Collins, who was famously tough with Trump and his deputies during his administration.”