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Payton Isner ’19 invited to CNN headquarters for “New Day” segment


Last updated September 25, 2017

By Tina Underwood

History major Payton Isner (Class of 2019) likely never dreamed his May 15 post on Odyssey would land him at CNN headquarters in New York this week. But it did. His whirlwind, all-expense-paid jaunt to the Big Apple stemmed from his post, “It’s Official: I Regret Voting For Donald Trump.”

The article caught the eye of CNN producer Steve Forrest who gathered a panel of Trump voters—some who support the President and some who can no longer remain on the bandwagon—to appear on air with host Alisyn Camerota in a CNN “New Day” segment: “Pulse of the People.” In it, the panelists discuss policy issues like health care, tax reform, foreign policy, race relations, Trump’s Twitter account, North Korea, immigration, the recent hurricane response and more.

The segment airs in two parts on CNN “New Day,” 7:50 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, and 7:50 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27. Incidentally, among the five panelists, Isner was the only college student represented in the CNN segment.

Isner, who is from Asheville, N.C., is part of a community of about a dozen Furman students who contribute to Odyssey, an online content hub. With his history degree and a teaching certificate earned through the university’s education department, Isner plans to teach high school history.

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