This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happened.
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That's it for The Loop today
By Felicity Ripper
Thanks for tuning in today as we covered news happening around the world this morning, including Donald Trump's CNN town hall.
If you're just tuning in, here's a bit of what we covered (click the link to jump to the post):
AOC slams CNN town hall
By Jessica Riga
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says CNN "should be ashamed of themselves," saying the broadcaster "lost total control" of its town hall with former US president Donald Trump.
"This falls squarely on CNN. Everyone here saw exactly what was going to happen," she wrote on Twitter during the program.
"This was a choice to platform lies about the election and January 6 with no plan but to have their moderator interrupted without consequences."
An important conversation?
By Jessica Riga
Analysis by North America Correspondent Barbara Miller
After an hour and 10 minutes, Kaitlan Collins wraps up the town hall, thanking Donald Trump and telling him it was an important conversation.
While the moderator did a good job of holding Trump to account, CNN will have to reflect deeply on whether it really was wise to give the former president this platform.
Over the evening Donald Trump:
- mocked a woman he’d been found to have sexually assaulted
- repeated his baseless claims of a stolen election
- insulted the moderator
- and refused to denounce Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The audience, made up of Republican and undecided voters, appeared delighted at times, and rewarded him with frequent laughs and applause.
The appearance suggests Trump’s approach to his 2024 run, despite all his legal woes resulting from his last stint in the White House, will be no different from the first time around.
For the news media, that poses, as Collins and her colleagues will no doubt now be reflecting upon, difficult questions about how much airtime to give the former president.
Would Trump accept the results of the 2024 election?
By Jessica Riga
"I think if it's an honest election, I would be honoured to," Trump says.
And that brings CNN's town hall to a close.
The crowd stands and applauds the former US president.
Despite insulting Collins minutes earlier, Trump shakes her hand and says "good job".
He then addresses the cheering crowd and says: "I like you guys!"
How is Kaitlin Collins doing?
By Jessica Riga
Analysis by North America Correspondent Barbara Miller
This is a very tough gig but Kaitlan Collins is doing an impressive job of trying to call out the former president’s lies and to pin him down on answers.
She’s effectively interjecting with facts and corrections and it’s getting to the former president, as we saw when he called her a "nasty person".
Trump calls moderator a 'nasty person'
By Jessica Riga
We're just over an hour into the town hall, and Trump has snapped at CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins.
They're currently discussing the investigation into Trump’s possession of presidential documents at Mar-a-Lago.
When Collins repeatedly interrupts Trump in a bid to get him to answer her questions, Trump calls her a "nasty person".
The crowd laughs.
Israeli air strike kills head of Islamic Jihad rocket-launching unit
By Felicity Ripper
In other non-Trump news, Shiloh mentioned earlier that fighting was ongoing in Gaza.
The Israeli military and Islamic Jihad have just reported that a late-night bombing of a building in the southern Gaza area of Khan Younis killed the head of Islamic Jihad's rocket launching force, identified as Ali Ghali, and two other militants.
Israel hit Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza for a second day on Wednesday and Palestinian militants launched hundreds of rockets across the border, setting off sirens as far away as Tel Aviv, while Egypt began efforts to mediate an end to the fighting.
The second round of cross-border fire in a week came after Israel launched strikes on Tuesday against three Islamic Jihad commanders it said had planned attacks against Israelis.
It comes after months of escalating violence.
We're back, and Ukraine is on the agenda
By Jessica Riga
A young women, who will be voting for the first time in 2024, asks Donald Trump: "Do you support US military aid to Ukraine and how would you deal with the threat posed by Putin?"
Trump says if he was president, he would solve Russia's war in Ukraine in 24 hours.
The supportive crowd explodes into claps and cheers.
He also falsely claims the Democrats believe that if he was in charge, Russia never would have invaded Ukraine.
Moderator Kaitlan Collins asks which Democrats said that, but Trump ignores her questioning.
Trump repeatedly avoids saying whether he would continue giving aid to Ukraine against Russia.
Trump on shakier ground on abortion
By Jessica Riga
Analysis by North America Correspondent Barbara Miller
Julie Miles — an audience member who voted for Trump in 2020 — asked the former president how he planned to appeal to women voters concerned about the decision to overturn the federal right to abortion.
Concerns among female voters in particular about the stripping away of abortion rights are a tricky issue for Republicans and are thought to have played into the Democrats' better-than-expected results in November's mid-terms.
But Donald Trump appears to misunderstand Julie's concerns, describing the Supreme Court's decision as "a great victory", which he personally takes credit for.
"I was so honoured to have done it."
Fact-check:
Donald Trump was no longer in office when the decision was made, but it did likely come down to the appointments he made to the Supreme Court while in the White House.
Trump says he does believe in exceptions for abortion if the mother's life is in danger or she has been raped.
He won't, however, be drawn on whether he would sign a federal ban on abortion, or give a straight answer on at how many weeks of pregnancy such a ban would be appropriate.
The camera pans briefly back to Julie as he speaks, who looks a little confused by the answer.
Some quick reactions while we're on a break
By Jessica Riga
Audience appears to lap up Trump
By Jessica Riga
Analysis by North America Correspondent Barbara Miller
The New Hampshire audience is apparently made up of Republicans and undecided voters, but you wouldn't know it.
There's frequent applause for the former president and laughter for his scornful take down of E Jean Carroll, the woman he was just found to have sexually abused and defamed.
"What kind of a woman meets someone … and within minutes you're playing hanky-panky in a dressing room," Donald Trump said.
He also appears to suggest that he would not have found a 60 year-old woman attractive.
For the record, E Jean Carroll was in her early 50s when the assault took place.
If elected, Trump won't be bringing in any new gun restrictions
By Jessica Riga
A young man who voted for Trump in 2020 asks: "If elected, how would you act to defend gun rights?"
"There's no-one who has protected the Second Amendment like I have," Trump says, before he begins talking about mental health in America and blaming people, not guns, for gun violence.
He then leans into how guns provide Americans with a sense of security.
Beyoncé has dazzled fans at her Renaissance world tour opening concert
By Felicity Ripper
If anyone is worthy of breaking up the Trump news, surely it's Beyoncé?
Tens of thousands of fans descended upon the Swedish capital of Stockholm to celebrate the opening show of Beyoncé’s new world tour.
Renaissance is the superstar’s first solo tour since 2016 and shares the name of her 2022 dance-centric album, the success of which landed Beyoncé at the top of the Grammy throne as the ceremony’s most decorated artist in history.
Fans who had complained in recent months about the lack of music videos for Renaissance hits were in for a treat on Wednesday as video projections and animations took centre stage.
The challenges of moderating Donald Trump
By Jessica Riga
Analysis by North America Correspondent Barbara Miller
Kaitlin Collins is a rising star at CNN, but this is a huge test for her.
How often do you interrupt a former president who continues to spout baseless claims?
Here’s another challenge already.
Donald Trump says the crowd he spoke to on January 6, 2021, was the largest he’s ever spoken to.
That would seem on the face of it unlikely, but how important is fact-checking it when Mr Trump is soon back onto claims that the election was stolen.
He also tells the room he’ll pardon many of the rioters jailed in the wake of January 6.
Trump doubles down on stolen election claims
By Jessica Riga
By North America Correspondent Barbara Miller
Straight out the blocks Donald Trump repeats his baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
In answer to the first question from moderator Kaitlin Collins as to why Americans should put him back in the White House the President almost immeditately turned to his claims of election fraud.
"That was a rigged election and it’s a shame we had to go through it," he said.
Kaitlin Collins interrupted the President several times, at one point giving him the option to publicly acknowledge he lost the election, all to no avail.
"That was a horrible election," he said
"We have to have honest elections."
That last comment got warm applause from the audience, who CNN says is made up of Republicans and undeclared voters.
Trump grilled on slow response to January 6 riots
By Jessica Riga
"Why did you wait three hours to tell your supporters to go home on January 6?" asks CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins.
Trump points the finger at others.
"Nancy Pelosi and the Mayor are in charge and I expect them to do their job," Trump replies.
Trump takes first audience question
By Jessica Riga
An undecided voter asks: "Will you suspend polarising talk of election fraud during your run?"
This question comes a little late, considering Trump has spent the first 5 minutes of this town hall repeating false claims of election fraud.
"Unless I see election fraud. If I see it, I’m obligated to say it," Trump responds.
Why did Trump agree to this CNN town hall?
By Jessica Riga
Historically, Donald Trump has a contentious relationship with CNN compared to other outlets.
The news network has frequently been a target of the former president’s ire, and even hours before the event, Trump was posting on his own social media platform that it was “a big long term opportunity” for CNN and saying it needed to treat his supporters "with respect".
According to the Associated Press, Trump's team saw the invitation from CNN as an opportunity to connect with a broader swath of voters than those who usually tune into the conservative outlets he favours.
"President Trump has been battle-tested and is a proven winner. He doesn’t shy away from anything and faces them head on," said Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung.
CNN town hall draws criticism
By Jessica Riga
Reporting by Emilie Gramenz in Washington, DC
CNN, currently struggling with historically low ratings and frequently adjusting its programming schedule, has faced blowback for inviting Donald Trump back on the air.
The network has justified it by pointing to the fact that he is currently the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
“Our job, despite his unique circumstances, is what we do best,” spokesman Matt Dornic told US media.
“Ask tough questions, follow up, and hold him accountable to give voters the information they need to sort through their choices.”
Protesters have already gathered outside CNN studios
By Jessica Riga
CNN's town hall with former US president Donald Trump is due to kick off in about 5 minutes.
A small group of anti-Trump protesters have gathered outside the town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Their signs included messages like "nobody is above the law" and "elections not insurrection."
