CNN defended its debate co-hosts from critics on Monday after they came under fire for being biased against former President Donald Trump.
The statement came after the Trump campaign ripped CNN for abruptly ending its interview with Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt. CNN’s Kasie Hunt, a former MSNBC host, suddenly ended the interview when Leavitt highlighted CNN’s Jake Tapper’s long history of criticizing Trump.
Tapper is co-hosting Thursday’s first presidential debate with Dana Bash. Both are critics of Trump.
They suggested Trump is a liar, was tougher on Democrats than Putin, pushed Russia propaganda, used rhetoric similar to Adolf Hitler, pushed falsehoods “fast and furious,” “tried to kill democracy once. He’ll do it again,” is an antisemite, could cause a civil war, and blamed Trump’s rhetoric for a New Zealand shooting.
“Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are well respected veteran journalists who have covered politics for more than five decades combined,” the network said in a statement obtained by the Hill.
“They have extensive experience moderating major political debates, including CNN’s Republican Presidential Primary Debate this cycle,” the network said. “There are no two people better equipped to co-moderate a substantial and fact-based discussion and we look forward to the debate on June 27 in Atlanta.”
The debate comes at a pivotal time for CNN. The network is on track for its lowest-rated month in prime time since 1991, the New York Times reported, citing Nielsen ratings that showed fewer than 100,000 average viewers a night among adults ages 25 to 54.
The debate is scheduled to be a highly watched first rematch between the two candidates since Biden took control of the federal government. Under Biden’s regime prices soared about 20 percent across the board, and more than 1.7 million known “gotaways” (illegal immigrants who evaded Border Patrol) entered the country, according to Congress.
Though the debate’s rules favor Biden — as the Biden camp reportedly acknowledges — voters will watch to see if Biden provides cogent answers about the top issues of soaring costs and seemingly endless migration, a Reuters focus group indicated.
Thursday’s 90-minute debate will air at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
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