CNN hoped a Trump town hall would give them credibility with the GOP. Instead, they got dunked on.

• Trump was back on CNN primetime during a town hall appearance on Wednesday night.
• CNN allowed him to bluster on for nearly 70 minutes in an apparent effort to reach conservative viewers.
• Advisers to the former president were thrilled by his free-wheeling performance, The New York Times reported. 

Donald Trump was back in the spotlight on Wednesday evening, steamrolling CNN and setting the internet ablaze during his chaotic return to the network — his first appearance since 2016 — in a performance filled with the former president's signature half-truths, blustering boasts, and full-out lies.