Kaitlan Collins should’ve ‘dropped the mic’ over Trump’s ‘nasty person’: Christiane Amanpour
Longtime CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour said colleague Kaitlan Collins should have “dropped the mic” when former President Donald Trump referred to her as a “nasty person” during last week’s tumultuous town hall in New Hampshire.
“I would have dropped the mic at ‘nasty person,’ but then that’s me,” said Amanpour, CNN’s chief international news anchor, during a graduation ceremony for the 2023 class of the Columbia Journalism School on Wednesday.
The British-born journalist, who has spent 40 years at the cable news channel, also told the audience she confronted boss Chris Licht and questioned him on why he green-lighted the event — the first high-profile network personality to publicly criticize the CNN CEO.
“We had a very robust exchange of views, and he wanted me to know that he welcomed that exchange of views,” she told the future journalists.
CNN and Licht have been on the receiving end of widespread blowback, including from many within the network, for giving Trump a platform.
Amanpour revealed that Licht acknowledged that “the execution” of the town hall was “lacking a little” and that the CNN boss pledged to her that “we will not witness the same appalling behavior in future town halls.”
The Post has sought comment from CNN.
Media observers said that Collins was steamrolled by Trump and left helpless on stage by the network.
Trump snapped at Collins by referring to her as a “nasty person” in response to questions from the former White House correspondent on his handling of classified documents — the subject of an ongoing federal investigation.
The network has nonetheless given Collins a vote of confidence by naming her the host of a nightly 9 p.m. primetime show in addition to giving her a new contract.
During the town hall, Trump also denigrated E. Jean Carroll, the woman who successfully sued him after claiming that he raped her.
The former president also repeated claims that the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was fraudulent.
Amanpour, 65, said: “My management believes they did the right thing — a service to the American people.”
“I still respectfully disagree with allowing Donald Trump to appear in that particular format,” Amanpour said.
Her comment was met with applause from those in the audience.
In dealing with Trump, Amanpour suggested that the journalism gatekeepers should exert more control over what content gets aired and published in media outlets.
“Maybe we should revert back to the newspaper editors and TV chiefs of the 1950s, who in the end refused to allow McCarthyism onto their pages,” Amanpour said.
“Unless his foul lies, his witch hunts and his rants reached the basic evidence level required in a court of law. His influence gradually decreased with all but his fervent colleagues and cults.”
“So maybe less is more,” she suggested. “Maybe live is not always right.”
“Some of the very best and even most fiery, compelling interviews are, in fact, taped and they are edited, not to change the context or the content or the truth or the intent, but to edit for filibuster and a stream of disinformation,” Amanpour said.
