Former President Donald Trump has agreed to participate in a CNN presidential town hall event in New Hampshire that will be moderated by anchor Kaitlan Collins, the network revealed in a surprise announcement Monday afternoon.
Trump will field questions from local Republicans as well as undecided voters during the May 10 event at St. Anselm Colleg that begins at 9 p.m. ET.
The appearance will mark Trump’s first time on CNN’s airwaves in “years,” according to the network’s media correspondent Oliver Darcy.
The town hall was announced as CNN pivots toward centrist coverage under the leadership of network president Chris Licht and WarnerBros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
In February, Zaslav specifically cited an uptick in CNN interviews with Republican lawmakers as a sign of the shift in the network’s approach.
Collins, the “CNN This Morning” co-anchor, gets the plum assignment on the heels of her former co-host Don Lemon getting fired by the network last week.
Trump has had a combative relationship with CNN since he first announced his run for the White House in 2015.
After getting elected, he publicly feuded with several CNN personalities – most notably then-chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
Last fall, Trump sued CNN for defamation, alleging the network carried out a “campaign of libel and slander” against him.
Trump has already launched his bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination and is considered the frontrunner in the race.
The 76-year-old is running despite a host of legal troubles.
Earlier this month, Trump was indicted on 34 felony charges for allegedly orchestrating illegal hush money payments to women with whom he purportedly engaged in extramarital affairs, including porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump also faces an ongoing civil rape trial over a lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, who has accused the former president of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room.
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