Did you expect anything else? The shitshow was going to be a shitshow. I knew it. You knew it. CNN knew it–although I don't think they expected the audience of New Hampshirites to laugh at the topic of sexual assault. The only ones who didn't think it was a shitshow were Trump's cult of supporters, which got no new members today.
Trump said he would support a national abortion ban. He boasted about being the "best president for the Second Amendment" (even though he's the only president to suggest circumventing the courts to confiscate guns). He claimed he could stop the Ukraine war in one day–likely meaning he'd "cancel" Ukraine by turning it wholesale over to the Kremlin. And he slandered a woman to whom he already owes $5 million for defamation which could add to his already mountainous amount of legal difficulties. And we've learned Trump's list of grievances hasn't shortened or really been updated in two years. None of these won him any voters, and they undoubtedly cost him some who have grown tired of his schtick.
Perhaps the biggest message, however, came down to Trump stating he wanted the US to default on its debt, an action that–despite what Trump claimed–would definitely have a detrimental impact on the US and world economies, with the US having a reduced credit rating in the future. This, to put it bluntly, was Trump trying to crash the US economy for the benefit of Russia and China by ordering his Congressional minions to destroy the nation to save him.
Someone please explain to me how Trump can claim that he completed his border wall–which he claimed would completely solve America's illegal immigration problem because only he could fix it–but we still have a significant illegal immigration problem according to Trump himself. Obviously, then, the problem wasn't the fact that there was (or wasn't) a wall at the southern border, because the wall didn't stop the problem. (In fact, the problem got worse after the wall was built, so using Trump Logic®, the border wall leads to illegal immigration.) So basically, we spent hundreds of millions of dollars for something that did… nothing.
I wouldn't want to be in Donald Trump's lawyer's shoes. First, because ewwww. Second, because you're likely to go unpaid, lose your law license, or both. But most importantly, Trump made many statements in CNN's 75-minute-ish oblation that will come back to bite him in current legal issues. (And as mentioned above, I wouldn't be surprised if E. Jean Carroll is already on the phone with her lawyers.) Trump admitted to illegally taking documents from the White House. He denied he asked "for anything" in the call to Georgia officials, effectively acknowledging that his actions were not as "perfect" as he claims. The more Trump talks, the more likely he'll end up hearing "guilty" in upcoming trials.
My biggest problem with CNN's airing this is not the fact that they gave airtime to Trump; it's that they did it with a pre-screened, obviously pro-Trump audience of Republicans and self-proclaimed independents. Trump feeds off the audience like any performer: the more people laugh, gasp or grimace, the more he thrives. The solution: no televised rallies for any candidate, and no live audiences during interviews or debates.
The solution: stop broadcasting rallies. Stop holding live-audience town halls. In future town halls, have questions asked by video. Let the audience pay attention to the responses, not the audience reactions. Networks cannot legitimately keep him completely off television, but they do not have to cave to Trump's demands to dictate the format. The problem–as we've seen with Fox "News"–is that it's not about the service to the public, it's about the dollars in the pocket.