CNN commentator Anderson Cooper called the network's Wednesday town hall with former president Donald Trump "disturbing," saying he would understand if viewers never watched the network again after seeing the broadcast.

"You have every right to be outraged today and angry, never watch this network again," Cooper said Thursday. The town hall was 70 minutes of Trump debating CNN personality Kaitlin Collins and taking questions from Republican voters. The broadcast drew three million viewers to the network, which in March saw its lowest rated week in more than seven years.

"Many of you are upset that someone who attempted to destroy our democracy was invited to sit on a stage in front of a crowd of Republican voters to answer questions," Cooper said. "And I get it, it was disturbing."

Trump said CNN "did the right thing" and that he "got the word out to millions of people that would generally not hear" his perspective.

Cooper's comments come after fellow CNN personality Oliver Darcy joined the backlash against the network by packaging a list of tweets in his newsletter criticizing CNN.

Trump's team saw the town hall as a win, saying they are "thrilled," according to the New York Times's Jonathan Swan.

"They can’t believe he is getting an hour on CNN with an audience that cheers his every line and laughs at his every joke," Swan said.