Why did the audience last night have to be Trump supporters or leaning toward Trump?

[Just_Vote_Dem]

That's how it was advertised.

?

[JHB]

1. Who else would show up?

They're the only people who want to see him.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. If they had balanced the audience with progressives, it would have become

a food fight Gerry Springer episode.

[ms liberty]

3. It was probably one of his requirements. That's my thought. n/t

[Emile]

4. Bingo

[boston bean]

6. Yep. And a complete sell out.

Better do this for every single candidate.

[underpants]

10. Fragile ego. Yep.

[HAB911]

5. CNN

[RegulatedCapitalistD]

7. Guaranteed he demanded it

[Hortensis]

8. Choosing that audience for tRump to work with made it a win for tRump

before he ever arrived. The event was deliberately stacked by CNN for tRump, the right's charismatic leader who is extremely good at what he did last night.

I was wrong that ex-Tucker Carlson employee Collins would be pitching him softballs all night, but it didn't matter -- that coup-denying/complicit audience was delivered to him to manipulate and own, the way Licht and others have been watching him do for years now, and she didn't have a chance of taking control away from him. They laughed and cheered him calling her a "nasty" woman for asking about the documents he took to Mar-a-Lago.

My guess is this was more appalling than CNN intended. It'll energize and reassure MAGAs who'd already vote for him, but it made news in itself and the message taken by others...

[Johonny]

9. CNN, where rapists get their news

They didn’t want their new corr audience of rapists and Klan members to hear the slightest jeer.

[C_U_L8R]

11. Because Trump is scared of Americans

Seems CNN is too.

[brooklynite]

12. Answer: he's a PRIMARY candidate at this time.

Same reason they don't bring Republicans to a Democratic Town Hall.