Following a great performance by Donald Trump at the CNN Town Hall on Wednesday, journalist Dylan Byers tweeted that the network cut the event short by as much as 20 minutes, presumably because Trump was wiping the floor with CNN host Kaitlin Collins.

Following the live broadcast, Byers tweeted:

“Note: The CNN Town Hall was a 90 minute broadcast, though the network expected the actual event to go as long as 75 minutes. They stopped less than 70 minutes in. In other words, they could have gone longer if they wanted – which is usually what executives do with big ratings draws.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) responded to this tweet, asking, “Did CNN cut it short because Trump was doing SO WELL?”

“I’ve never seen a Town Hall get called like a ‘Mercy Rule’ before. Did that really happen?”

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Editor-in-Chief of The Federalist, Mollie Hemingway, also commented on CNN cutting the Town Hall short, joking that “Trump did so well that CNN ran off the field.”

Following the Republican Presidential Town Hall on CNN, Trump received major praise for how he answered the important questions and stood up for himself throughout the event.

Many people, however, were less impressed with the host’s performance. Collins was criticized for being unprofessional, interrupting Trump, and arguing with him over his answers. She clearly let her personal feelings about Trump get in the way of properly conducting the interview.

When talking to Trump about the classified documents that were confiscated from Mar-a-Lago, Collins behaved as if she were a teenager arguing with her father, continuously interrupting him then being rude when he wasn’t answering her question sufficiently.

“You are a nasty person, I’ll tell ya,” Trump said at one point, getting fed up with the host’s attitude.

Post-Town Hall, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) criticized Collins’ behavior on CNN, stating that Town Halls are for the benefit of the voters, not for the press or the moderator.

Donalds chastised Collins for spending more time interjecting her own viewpoints than conducting a proper interview.

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