CNN host Christiane Amanpour rebukes network over Trump town hall

Influential anchor tells Columbia commencement address she had ‘very robust exchange of views’ with channel boss Chris Licht

The CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour has strongly criticized her own network for hosting a town-hall event with Donald Trump last week, saying she had “a very robust exchange of views” with Chris Licht, the chief executive under fire for approving and then defending the decision to stage it.

Amanpour, giving the commencement address at Columbia Journalism School in New York on Wednesday, said in comments reported by Variety: “We know Trump and his tendencies – everyone does. He just seizes the stage and dominates.