Donald Trump Trolls CNN With Fake Clip of Anderson Cooper Trashing Network and Praising His Town Hall Performance
May 12 2023, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
After he appeared on CNN for the Republican town hall event, ex-prez Donald Trump attempted to troll the network by posting a fake clip of star anchor Anderson Cooper praising the GOP frontrunner's performance, RadarOnline.com has learned.
CNN desperately needed a rating boost when Trump took the stage at Wednesday night's town hall event hosted by Kaitlan Collins.
Despite overwhelming backlash and calls to boycott the network, CNN gave Trump a platform to speak to millions of viewers — and the Republican returned the favor by trashing the network with a series of memes on Friday morning.
Refusing to change his playbook, Trump took to Truth Social to share a series of taunting messages directed at CNN and his critics.
Despite the town hall's structure, which included only Republican and undecided voters in the audience and limited oversight from CNN, Trump declared himself the victor of the non-debate.
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
Trump relished in the applause he received from town hall attendees — and he continued to fish for compliments from his base with his Truth Social posts.
One post from Trump included a fake video of Cooper, which appeared to originate from a YouTube creator. In the clip, Cooper boasted of Trump's performance while he trashed his own network.
"That was President Donald Trump ripping us a new a------ here at CNN’s live presidential town hall," the artificial Cooper said in the fake video.
- Donald Trump Gives CNN The Ratings Boost It Desperately Needs as Struggling Network Smashes FOX and MSNBC With Town Hall Interview
- Donald Trump Brags About 'Traumatizing' CNN Staffers with Divisive Town Hall As Newsroom's Morale Hits Rock Bottom Over Coverage
- 'Many Minds Were Changed': Donald Trump Praises 'Very Smart' CNN for Hosting New Hampshire Town Hall
DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.
While the video was clearly created by AI technology, Trump appeared to intentionally engage in the possibility that his followers would perceive the fake Cooper's words as true.
During Wednesday's televised town hall, Collins pressed Trump on why he did not instruct his followers to leave the Capitol sooner on January 6, given the authority his words have over them.
While Trump agreed with Collin's statement — and even acknowledged that his base listened to him more than any other figurehead — he insisted that Nancy Pelosi was to blame.
Another eye-opening moment from the CNN town hall came when Trump went on a tirade against his accuser, E. Jean Carroll.
Despite a Manhattan jury awarding Carroll nearly $5 million in damages, after they found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, Trump continued to trash her reputation.
The crowd applauded when Trump attacked Carroll and insisted that he never met her.