CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins defended her work and preparation for the town hall discussion with former President Donald Trump during a Thursday interview.
Collins sat down with political analyst David Axelrod for the latest episode of his podcast The Axe Files, where she talked about her career and looked back at the town hall with 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 pointed out, before lauding Collins on her career accomplishments.
“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,” Axelrod asked.
“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 front runner,” Collins said.
Collins faced backlash in the days following the town hall from media and other observers who were divided on her handling of Trump on stage — though critics largely agreed she was put in a tough spot, given the partisan pro-Trump live audience.
Axelrod rephrased the question, asking Collins about being the focus of “national critiques.”
“I’m asking you as a human being. Was that tough to read some of that stuff?” Axelrod asked.
“I think that I did the best job that I could do,” Collins said. “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.”
“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. 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.”
Listen above via The Axe Files.
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