美国国家公共电台 NPR--CNN's town hall with Donald Trump takes on added stakes after verdict in Carroll case

CNN's town hall with Donald Trump¹ takes on added stakes after verdict in Carroll case

Transcript²

Little more than a day after being found liable for battery and defamation³ of a woman who says he raped⁴ her in the 1990s, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to take questions in a live town hall event on the news network whose journalists he called "the enemy of the people" while running for the presidency⁵ and serving in office.

Before the jury foreperson announced the verdict at a courtroom in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, the immediate⁶ stakes for Trump — and CNN — were already high. Now they are even higher.

For months, Trump has been furious at Fox News, which serves as a pillar of the Republican Party and its controlling owners Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, who have been auditioning⁷ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a GOP presidential candidate before Fox audiences.

Just hours before Tuesday's verdict in E. Jean Carroll's civil suit against him, Trump wrote an angry post on his Truth Social account inveighing⁸ against the Murdochs, Fox corporate⁹ director Paul Ryan ("Worst Republican Speaker ever") and their premier¹⁰ newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, as well as Fox, which he wrote was "rapidly disintegrating¹¹." (Indeed, its prime-time ratings have plunged¹² since it fired star Tucker Carlson late last month, though Fox officials suggest they will rebound¹³ once a permanent replacement¹⁴ is named.)

The CNN appearance was intended to allow Trump to demonstrate his independence from a network often favored by his fans. It hasn't been a complete Fox blackout; Trump has given interviews this year to conservative Fox hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin, as well as Carlson before his departure. He also spoke¹⁵ to a Fox News digital reporter Tuesday night after the verdict in Carroll's suit went against him.

CNN has much to prove, as well. In his first year on the job, Chairman and CEO Chris Licht has sought to put his mark on the network by draining it of the relentless¹⁶ criticism of Trump in response to the crises and controversies¹⁷ that defined his administration. Many Republicans argue that CNN had become too ideological¹⁸.

Licht canceled Brian Stelter's media criticism show Reliable Sources and shifted prime-time star Don Lemon to the morning. Both hosts had been outspoken¹⁹ against Trump. Lemon was fired this spring after accusations²⁰ of sexism both on air and toward his female co-hosts. Lemon and his attorney contest those characterizations. Licht has told his staff they are reestablishing the channel's original identity.

He is echoing the message of his boss, David Zaslav, the chief executive of CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

"The U.S. has divided government," Zaslav said last week on CNBC. "We need to hear both voices. Republicans are on the air on CNN. Democrats²¹ are on the air. All voices should be heard on CNN."

"Our network is about the best version of the facts," Zaslav said. "This is a new CNN." Zaslav has dismissed concerns about CNN's tepid²² ratings, saying the channel could draw stronger audiences with more partisan²³ fare. Carrying Trump on the air could cause viewership and buzz to spike²⁴, at least for the night.

A live town hall with Trump carries risks for CNN

The announcement of CNN's town hall with Trump engendered²⁵ a backlash from both liberals and journalists who question the wisdom of putting Trump on the air live. During Trump's drive to the White House in 2015 and 2016, the press failed repeatedly to cover him adequately. His rapid-fire bombast²⁶ and glibness²⁷ with false claims and outright²⁸ lies overwhelmed reporters' ability to process the implications of what he was saying in real time.

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan argued against inviting²⁹ Trump on. Failing that, however, he declared that CNN had an obligation to confront the former president about his record and his character, in and out of office. He said that CNN should start by asking Trump whether he had disqualified himself from the presidency, both for his actions ahead of the Jan. 6 riot on the U.S. Capitol and recent comments that appeared to justify³⁰ "terminating" parts of the U.S. Constitution.

The CNN town hall will feature Republican and non-committed New Hampshire voters at St. Anselm College. It will be moderated by morning host Kaitlan Collins. She is well-known to Trump, as a former White House correspondent for CNN.

CNN political director David Chalian said the network approached the event as it would one for any candidate, but called Trump a "unique candidate" in that he's a former president — the first one to run for the White House in more than a century.

And Chalian acknowledged another distinction. Trump trashed governing norms. He was impeached³¹ twice by the U.S. House, though not convicted in the U.S. Senate.

"Obviously, he is under indictment³² in one case. He's under investigation³³ in several other cases, and then there's the insurrection – January 6th – and how Donald Trump left office," Chalian told NPR before Tuesday's verdict in the Carroll case. "Our job is to do what we do best, which is to ask him questions, follow up, hold him accountable for his words and actions, and in this case, convene³⁴ this conversation that he's going to have directly with voters as well."

Moderator Kaitlan Collins tussled with Trump as a White House reporter

Collins carries conservative bona fides as a former reporter for the Daily Caller, founded by Carlson. But she did not display a strong ideological affinity³⁵ as a CNN White House reporter. Indeed, she was hardly seen as a pushover. Trump aides irked over her coverage³⁶ once blocked her from attending a press conference. (The Trump White House unsuccessfully went to court to revoke³⁷ the credentials³⁸ of her colleague Jim Acosta.)

That's a more familiar dynamic for Trump and CNN. He earlier accused the network of "anger and hatred³⁹" toward him and said he considered it to be serving as the opposition⁴⁰ to his administration.

Now he's encouraging followers⁴¹ to tune⁴² in Wednesday night. "They made me a deal I couldn't refuse!!!" Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social. "Could be the beginning of a New & Vibrant⁴³ CNN, with no more Fake News, or it could turn into a disaster for all, including me."

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

4 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 auditioning   

vi.试听（audition的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• She was auditioning for the role of Lady Macbeth. 她试演了麦克佩斯夫人的角色。
• Which part are you auditioning for? 你试音什么角色？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 inveighing   

v.猛烈抨击，痛骂，谩骂( inveigh的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was inveighing against the evils of drink. 发言人正在猛烈抨击喝酒的害处。 来自互联网
• Letters appear regularly in the newspaper inveighing against the misuse of the English language. 报纸上经常刊登来信猛烈抨击滥用英语的现象。 来自互联网

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

11 disintegrating   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• As a poetic version of a disintegrating world, this one pleased him. 作为世界崩溃论在文学上的表现，他非常喜欢这个学说。 来自辞典例句
• Soil animals increase the speed of litter breakdown by disintegrating tissue. 土壤动物通过分解组织，加速落叶层降解的速度。 来自辞典例句

12 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

13 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

14 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

17 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

18 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

19 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

20 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

21 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 tepid   

adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的

参考例句：

• She bent her mouth to the tap and drank the tepid water.她把嘴伸到水龙头底下去喝那微温的水。
• Her feet firmly planted on the tepid rough brick of the floor.她一双脚稳固地立在微温而粗糙的砖地上。

23 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

24 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

25 engendered   

v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The issue engendered controversy. 这个问题引起了争论。
• The meeting engendered several quarrels. 这次会议发生了几次争吵。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 bombast   

n.高调，夸大之辞

参考例句：

• There was no bombast or conceit in his speech.他的演讲并没有夸大其词和自吹自擂。
• Yasha realized that Wolsky's bombast was unnecessary.雅夏看出沃尔斯基是在无中生有地吹嘘。

27 glibness   

n.花言巧语；口若悬河

参考例句：

• Mr Samgrass replied with such glibness and at such length, telling me of mislaid luggage. 桑格拉斯先生却油嘴滑舌，事无巨细地告诉我们说行李如何被错放了。 来自辞典例句

28 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

29 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

30 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

31 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

32 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

33 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

34 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

35 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

36 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

37 revoke   

v.废除，取消，撤回

参考例句：

• The university may revoke my diploma.大学可能吊销我的毕业证书。
• The government revoked her husband's license to operate migrant labor crews.政府撤销了她丈夫管理外来打工人群的许可证。

38 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

39 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

40 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

41 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

42 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

43 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。