"That was disgusting, I felt horrible for E. Jean and I felt horrible for honestly anybody who has been a victim of sexual assault," Trump's former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tells Inside Edition.
A triumph for Trump and a trainwreck for CNN.
That is what many are saying about the former president's town hall on the cable news network Wednesday night.
Donald Trump used his time in the spotlight to continue spreading misinformation about the 2020 election, praising the January 6 rioters who attempted an insurrection at the Capitol, and mocking the woman a jury just ordered him to pay $3 million to for defamation.
"That was a rigged election. And it's a shame that we had to go through," Trump declared, as CNN moderator Kaitlyn Collins attempted to push back against his claims.
When Collins later demanded the Republican frontrunner provide her with a clear answer about the classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach Estate, Trump turned on the moderator.
"Hold on. Are you ready? Can I tell you? Do you mind? It's very simple to answer," said Trump. He then managed to avoid giving a full response by saying to Collins: "You are a nasty person."
Then came the praise for the rioters, who Trump said were "proud" and there "with love in their heart."
"That was unbelievable. And it was a beautiful day," Trump said. He then noted that he would pardon most of the rioters who have been convicted on federal charges if he were to be elected president for a second term.
He also started of the night by mocking E. Jean Carroll, just 24 hours after a jury awarded her $5 million in damages for sexual assault and defamation.
The audience even laughed and cheered as he said he has no idea who Carroll was, and mocked her for "playing Hanky Panky in a dressing room."
"That was disgusting, I felt horrible for E. Jean and I felt horrible for honestly anybody who has been a victim of sexual assault," Trump's former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tells Inside Edition.
She says that she mostly watched the townhall in dismay.
"I don't think anybody was surprised last night at what they saw," Grisham says. "I think that audience really enjoyed him clearly, but I do not believe that that townhall got him any more votes."
Even CNN's own anchors were critical of the spectacle, with both Anderson Cooper and Jake Taper voicing their dismay in a segment that ran after the event.
The townhall did manage to score in the ratings with 3.1 million viewers tuning in. That is five times more than the network normally averages in that timeslot.
