Former President Trump blasted CNN a day ahead of his scheduled sit-down with Kaitlin Collins, one of the network’s leading anchors, for a rare town hall event in New Hampshire. 

“I’ll be doing CNN tomorrow night, LIVE from the Great State of New Hampshire, because they are rightfully desperate to get those fantastic (TRUMP!) ratings once again,” the former president wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.

“They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse!!! Could be the beginning of a New & Vibrant CNN, with no more Fake News, or it could turn into a disaster for all, including me. Let’s see what happens?” 

The network announced last week it would on Wednesday hold a town hall style event with Trump and New Hampshire voters, the first the former president has sat for in years. 

CNN, which like many news outlets experienced a boost in viewership during the 2016 presidential campaign and Trump’s four years in office, has taken criticism from some Democrats and media pundits for providing the former president a massive prime time platform.

Trump remains the odds-on favorite to claim the Republican nomination for president, despite a string of recent legal troubles and ongoing investigations into his handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, among other matters. 

The former president’s decision to do the town hall event CNN is seen by some observers as a broader effort by Trump to rebuild his relationship with some media outlets he has routinely chastised in recent years. 

CNN, meanwhile, has undergone a massive personnel and programming overhaul in recent months under new president Chris Licht. 

Last week, media mogul David Zaslav, who runs CNN’s parent company WarnerBros. Discovery, defended the network’s decision to host Wednesday’s event with Trump. 

“The U.S. is a divided government,” Zaslav said. “We need to hear both voices. That’s what you see. Republicans are on the air at CNN. Democrats are on the air. All voices should be heard on CNN.”