Trump mystified that CNN not celebrating town hall ratings triumph

Former President Donald Trump seemed mystified on Monday that CNN wasn't celebrating the huge ratings win it got when he appeared on a town hall there.

He told brand new media outlet The Messenger:

I thought they would be neutral and even better than that so they could get the viewers back. And they had one of the best [viewership] days in years. So you would think they would claim success. I was amazed to see that they were traumatized by what took place. They were actually traumatized. 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?

Trump stopped short of saying that the town hall was a victory for him but said that "everybody" said it was.

"Everyone else says it was. … I’ve never been so credited with the successes the way I have with this," he said. "Everybody — the radical left, fascists, Marxists, communists, and normal people — have said that it was a total complete victory for Trump.. . But CNN has taken tremendous hits. And I’m surprised they don’t really say that they had a very big ratings night. Truly surprising to me.”

CNN had over three million total viewers for the event, and 700,000 viewers in the coveted 25-54 age demographic--five times their usual amount.

Trump said the day after the event that "many minds were changed" by what he said, but CNN anchors like Anderson Cooper were embarrassed that the network had featured Trump, who is much hated by the left.