Trump says he's 'amazed' that CNN staffers were 'traumatized' by his town hall appearance

• Donald Trump said that he was "amazed" that CNN staffers were "traumatized" by his town hall appearance.
• CNN staffers were horrified watching their network conduct the 70-minute town hall, Insider has reported.

Former President Donald Trump said that he was "amazed" that CNN staffers were "traumatized" by his controversial town hall appearance on the network last week and was "surprised" that the media giant did not brag about the high ratings the event drew in.

"They were actually traumatized," Trump told news outlet The Messenger in a wide-ranging interview published on Monday.

Trump added, "I think that instead of acting the way they did, they should have said, 'We had a tremendous ratings night, one of the best in years, many years,' and spiked the football, right?" according to The Messenger.

Insider previously reported that CNN staffers were horrified watching their network's 70-minute town hall event last Wednesday in which Trump branded anchor Kaitlan Collins a "nasty person" and mocked the woman who a jury found him liable for sexually abusing, drawing laughter from the studio audience.

"Having people applaud those sexual abuse comments definitely made me question my allegiance to this network," one network executive previously told Insider.

Trump also told The Messenger he was "surprised by the level of hostility" he says he received during the town hall.

"I thought they would be neutral and even better than that so they could get the viewers back," the 2024 Republican presidential candidate said. "And they had one of the best [viewership] days in years."

Trump continued, "And I'm surprised they don't really say that they had a very big ratings night. Truly surprising to me."

The CNN town hall with Trump drew 3.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, putting it on par with viewership figures for Tucker Carlson's top-rated show before he was pulled off Fox News.

The former president's interview with the newly launched publication comes amid a reported media blitz. Trump, who repeatedly called journalists the "enemy of the people," has returned to more of his 2016 roots as he seeks to cement his early lead atop the GOP presidential field.

Politico previously reported that Trump's advisors are aware of journalists' gripes about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' relative lack of interviews thus far.