'Walking into a complete ambush': Trump allies fear CNN town hall will blow up in his face

Former President Donald Trump is set up to be given an enormous platform with a CNN town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday evening — but now, some of his allies think it would be a disaster for him to go through with it, reported The Daily Beast.

"Just over 24 hours before Trump’s scheduled sit-down, however, whatever hopes he had to ambush CNN turned into what one of his former advisers called 'walking into a complete ambush,'" reported Jake Lahut and Zachary Petrizzo. "That’s because on Tuesday, a Manhattan jury found Trump to be liable for sexually abusing, and then defaming, the writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $5 million in damages."

CNN is facing criticism for going ahead with the town hall from Democrats and media analysts, who believe rewarding a man just held liable for sexual abuse with a national stage just a day after the verdict came down is inappropriate. But on the other side, Trump's associates also think the timing is terrible.

"Trump is almost certain to be asked about the case and the verdict by moderator Kaitlan Collins, who covered his White House for CNN," said the report. "'If I were on his communications team, I would be shitting my pants right now,' said the adviser, who held a senior role on Trump’s 2016 campaign and requested anonymity to speak candidly. The verdict, they said, 'could not have come at a worse time for them, so I think this thing takes on a whole new dynamic. Majorly.' It was unclear following the verdict if his campaign was trying to renegotiate the terms of the programming with CNN."

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According to the report, Trump is still expected to go ahead with the town hall as of press time.

Trump has reacted to the verdict with fury, claiming that he doesn't even know who Carroll is and blasting presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan as a "Trump hater."

This comes as the former president faces a number of other legal problems, including criminal charges in Manhattan for bookkeeping fraud over his $130,000 alleged hush payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, a Georgia election interference investigation, and two federal probes involving January 6 and the theft of classified information.