“Mercy Rule”: CNN Abruptly Cut Trump Town Hall Short by Twenty Minutes

CNN cut short the network’s town hall with President Trump Wednesday night by twenty minutes after Trump, backed by a wildly supportive audience (hand picked by CNN), took control of the forum from anchor Kaitlan Collins right from the start and never let up. The live event at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire was scheduled to run from 8 p.m. EDT until 9:30 p.m., however right before 9:10 p.m. Collins abruptly ended the town hall.

Note: The CNN Town Hall was a 90 minute broadcast, though the network expected the actual event to go as long as 75 minutes. They stopped less than 70 minutes in. In other words, they could have gone longer if they wanted—which is usually what executives do with big ratings draws

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) May 11, 2023