CNN host Erin Burnett is set to moderate a live town hall with progressive Texas Senate candidate James Talarico next month, according to a Monday press release from the network. The event, scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, will be co-hosted by CNN and Jubilee Media and will take place in Texas, with Talarico fielding questions from Burnett and from a live audience of Texas voters.
The network said the audience will include Democrats, Republicans, and independent voters. Jubilee Media, known for its YouTube debates and content aimed at younger audiences across the political spectrum, is partnering with CNN for the event.
A town hall invitation has also been extended to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican running for the seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Paxton defeated Cornyn in the GOP primary earlier this year, according to Breitbart News, which first reported the announcement. It is not yet clear whether Paxton has accepted the invitation.
Burnett’s Recent Clashes with the White House
The town hall announcement comes as CNN remains locked in a dispute with the Trump administration over access to the White House press pool. The president barred CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the pool, accusing the outlets of reporting what he characterized as “fake news.”
Burnett, who previously moderated a 2020 Democratic primary debate on CNN and conducted interviews with Democratic candidates during the 2024 election cycle, addressed the ban on her program last Wednesday. On “Erin Burnett OutFront,” she argued that “for Trump, fiction and lies refers to any story that he doesn’t like,” and compared the move to restrictions on media in communist China.
“This is a ban that is more likely to be seen in Beijing than Washington,” Burnett said, adding that “China’s Xi Jinping does have absolute control over the media. He has the power to silence dissenting voices. And that’s exactly what Trump is doing on the same day that he meets with Xi, where he is rolling out the red carpet for the Chinese president, something that hasn’t been done on U.S. soil. We haven’t been here in nearly a decade.”
The ban was short-lived. A federal judge, U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly, ruled that the three outlets must be “immediately” reinstated, acting on a lawsuit filed jointly by the news organizations to overturn the president’s action. Despite the ruling, the White House still dropped CNN from traveling with Trump on Air Force One this past Saturday.
White House Defends Air Force One Decision
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the move during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. Blanche pointed out that the White House “routinely decides who can go on Air Force One,” and said the decision was not unusual.
“This wasn’t a one-time denial of CNN,” Blanche stated. “There’s all kinds of times when certain reporters are not flying or are flying.”
The White House has not commented further on the town hall or the ongoing dispute with CNN.
Breitbart News, which reported the town hall details, noted that Burnett has previously taken a different stance on free speech issues involving Trump. When Trump was banned from Twitter in January 2021, Burnett did not push back against the proposition that platforms should remove him due to the alleged danger posed by his remarks, according to Breitbart. The outlet also pointed to a separate instance when former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was suspended from Twitter over her COVID-related claims, during which Burnett asked guest Mike Shields whether Twitter should stop Greene from spreading her message even if it was misleading. Shields responded by arguing that in America, free speech protections extend even to those saying “dumb things,” and suggested Twitter appeared biased against conservatives.
Talarico’s Bid and the Texas Senate Race
Talarico, a progressive candidate, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the Texas Senate seat. He will face the winner of the Republican primary, which Paxton won by defeating Cornyn. The town hall is one of the first major media events of the general election cycle in Texas, a state that Democrats have long hoped to make competitive but where Republicans have maintained a firm hold on statewide offices.
The event will be broadcast live from Texas on October 14. CNN said more details about the format and audience participation would be released closer to the date.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2026/09/28/cnns-erin-burnett-to-moderate-james-talaricos-town-hall-as-network-sues-over-white-house-access/