MSNBC President open to Trump town hall, but with conditions.

MSNBC President Open to Hosting Town Hall Event with Trump

MSNBC president Rashida Jones has expressed openness to hosting a town hall event for former Republican President Donald Trump, under certain “parameters.”

During an interview with Axios reporter Sara Fischer at the Cannes Lions Festival, Jones stated, “We’re having conversations with all of the candidates across our entire newsgroup about how to bring their point of view to the audience.”

She further explained, “There are lots of ways to do that, whether it’s a live interview, whether it’s a tape interview, or whether it’s a town hall, whether it’s a debate. I don’t know that a town hall tomorrow is something that our audience is looking for, or any audience, but as you look at the next 505 days [until the presidential election], I think you’ll see a lot of that across the portfolio.”

When asked if the network would consider a town hall-style event with Trump if he requested, Jones responded, “It would be a conversation. I think you’d have to put parameters about how to control the environment.”

This comes after CNN’s town hall event featuring Trump received high ratings and criticism from both left-wing pundits and CNN employees. The event, moderated by CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins, drew over 3 million viewers and helped boost the network’s ratings.

Liberal Backlash

However, the MSNBC president’s openness to interviewing Trump has already faced criticism from liberals. Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann took to Twitter to express his disapproval, stating, “MSNBC needs a new president. This one left the door open to a live Trump Town Hall.”

In a separate tweet, Olbermann apologized for what MSNBC has become and criticized the hosts for not holding management accountable.

Trump’s Media Strategy for 2024

It remains uncertain if Trump would even consider giving an interview to MSNBC. Since the last election cycle, he has primarily limited himself to conservative media outlets and social media influencers.

The town hall event on May 10 marked Trump’s first appearance on CNN since 2016. In a later interview, Trump expressed surprise at the level of hostility during the program and suggested that CNN should have celebrated their high ratings instead.