Kaitlan Collins Doesn't View CNN Town Hall Backlash As A 'Setback'

Jun. 8 2023, Published 9:00 p.m. ET

Kaitlan Collins brushed off recent critics of her town hall performance!

On Thursday, June 8, political analyst David Axelrod released an episode of his podcast, "The Axe Files," where he sat down with the CNN reporter. The interview focused primarily on the extreme backlash Collins received after hosting the network's town hall for Donald Trump.

"I thought you hung in there in a remarkable way … I'm sure that you were not immune to the criticism that followed, and I was wondering about that. You've had this sort of meteoric career," Axelrod began, commenting on the May 10 television event.

"Now you see a really kind of unflattering coverage. How did you process that? Had you ever had these — a setback like this? And I'm just wondering what it's like to be you," the host asked Collins.

"I don't view it as a setback. I totally understand that there was a lot of criticism and thoughts on how it was handled and what it looked like. I think it's important to hear from the Republican frontrunner," she said in response.

Axelrod then reworded his original question, asking what Collins thought about being the center of "national critiques." "I'm asking you as a human being. Was that tough to read some of that stuff?" he said.

"I think that I did the best job that I could do," the new CNN primetime anchor replied. "I spent weeks preparing for that. I watched past town halls, past debates. I did my homework. And I think when you come out of something like that, you have to be prepared to — people are entitled to their own reaction to it. And we certainly saw that."

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"My question for me at the end of the day is, do I think that I did the best job that I can do? And how do I feel about my performance in that? And I felt like I did the best job that I could do … I went into it fully prepared," she continued, defending her performance.

"I was prepared for what — how he was going to respond to that and what that was going to look like. And I think that was the best that I could do. And my job was to press him on those really important issues that he hasn't been pressed on," Collins concluded.