Former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence are set to compete for the attention of the public Wednesday night as Trump holds a town hall on CNN and Pence appears on Sean Hannity’s Fox News TV show.
Trump and CNN previously announced the town hall event for 8 p.m. at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, but a Pence spokesman confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the former vice president would appear on Hannity at 9 p.m., just one hour after Trump’s event.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S CNN TOWN HALL
The two former running mates have rarely appeared together after leaving the White House and in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot that forced Pence to flee violent protesters. The town hall event is the first time Trump is appearing on CNN since the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has publicly feuded with the network, derisively referring to it as “fake news.” The Trump administration even sparred with the host of Wednesday night’s event, CNN This Morning anchor Kaitlan Collins.
But the pressure on Trump and CNN ramped up after a New York jury found Trump liable for battery and defamation against author E. Jean Carroll. Trump was also ordered to pay $5 million in damages to Carroll. The verdict is unprecedented waters for any political party. As Trump is the GOP’s 2024 presidential front-runner, Tuesday’s ruling could hurt Trump’s position with primary voters and within the Republican Party. Republican senators are already divided on whether they will support Trump on the nomination. And this all comes in the wake of Trump facing 34 felony counts stemming from a hush money payment scheme to pornography actress Stormy Daniels.
Pence, although not a presidential candidate, said he would make a decision on whether to run before late June. “I think that anyone that would be serious about seeking the Republican nomination would need to be in this contest by June,” Pence said in an interview with CBS News last month. Like other 2024 hopefuls, Pence has frequently traveled to Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, all early-voting states.
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The former vice president has also taken steps to distance himself from Trump and rarely commented on the falling out between the two men. Although, last month, he did testify in front of a federal grand jury investigating his former boss on the fallout from the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Pence has also championed the GOP moving away from candidates who are focused on the past, a sly reference to Trump’s grievances. Whether the GOP base is buying Pence’s vision remains to be seen. Trump commands a comfortable lead over any other 2024 Republican in polls, and when Pence spoke at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention last month, he was booed and only made a passing mention of Trump.