"Licht said he wished he had introduced the in-person audience to TV watchers so that viewers could better identify who they were, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private" - CNBC

The problem is the CNN Trump townhall audience rincluded only Trump supporters which is not an accurate view of the country. But for Chris Licht to be making any admission he might have done things differently shows there has been strong pushback from CNN staff and viewers.