Blaming Congress for not standing up for CNN, 51-yer-old CNN CEO Jeff Zucker refused to take responsibility for CNN backing former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Zucker thinks President Donald Trump has gone overboard attacking the media for not only backing Hillary but its relentless attacks on him. At a media conference in Jerusalem today, Zucker lashed out at Trump for calling the media “the enemy of the state,” essentially losing their objectivity and responsibility under the First Amendment to not take sides. Anyone watching CNN’s primetime programming knows that it’s egregiously anti-Trump. Zucker blasted the establishment’s silence against Trump’s attacks, despite admitting May 2, 2016 CNN “had become too liberal.” Zucker reluctantly admitted that CNN’s pro-Hillary bias hurt the network.
Zucker can’t have it both ways: Either proudly accepting its left wing bias or facing the consequences with voters turned off by egregious media bias. Whatever happened in the 2016 campaign, Zucker had nothing to say when his White House correspondent Jim Acosta interrupted Trump rudely Jan. 11 for not getting called for a question. Acosta’s blatant hostility toward the president prompted Trump to call CNN “fake news.” Zucker took Trump’s comments about the media being the “enemy of the people” out of context, when Trump simply pointed out that anti-Trump news networks can expect reciprocation by the White House. Telling the audience “words have consequences,” Zucker should look no further than his CNN line-up of Trump-bashing show-hosts. If CNN’s words mirror undeniable anti-Trump bias, then the president has a right to respond.
Virtually every negative news story about Trump, real or fake, finds it way on CNN News. When it comes to Trump’s ties to Russia, CNN routinely over-reports on unsubstantiated stories about Trump’s alleged Russian ties. CNN’s the first to call Trump’s recent tweet about getting wiretapped, prompting CNN to ask repeatedly for Trump’s proof. Yet, when it comes to indicting Trump for his Russian ties, CNN asks for no such proof. Zucker praised Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for having the courage to stand up to Trump. Yet Zucker knows both McCain and Graham hate Trump as much as CNN, often exploiting them on CNN to criticize Trump. Zucker calls McCain and Graham courageous, when, in fact, they attack Trump because they want him impeached. Zucker shows he cites anyone that backs his anti-Trump media bias.
Trump never said the media was the enemy of the “state,” as Zucker told participants in Jerusalem. Trump said it was the enemy of the “people” when a news network violates its First Amendment mandate to get out the facts without taking sides. CNN’s extreme Hillary bias during the campaign broke new ground for transforming news into propaganda. Claiming CNN’s ratings have “gone up” since Trump’s attacks, what Zucker isn’t saying is that CNN’s demographics have changed. CNN has more minority viewers but not a mainstream audience, now moving over to Fox News. Zucker can’t rant about Trump’s attacks, while, at the same time, admitting that CNN went too far to the left in the 2016 presidential race. If the network only allows negative stories about Trump, it’s still cherry-picking, skewing the news that advances the Democratic Party’s liberal agenda.
Zucker pretends CNN engages in nonpartisan reporting, when, if fact, he’s admitted to going too far to the left. “When you are reporting, when you are standing up for the facts, when you are telling the truth, when you are standing up for the First Amendment, when your are calling it the way it is, that’s not hitting back—that’s doing your job,” Zucker told the Jerusalem audience. What Zucker didn’t admit is that CNN reports only on negative stories about Trump, certainly nothing covered by Fox News, refusing cover reports, even in the left wing press, that’s exculpatory toward Trump. When the New York Times, Washington Post and other liberal news outlets reported Trump was wiretapped by the intel community, CNN doesn’t cover the story because they’re out to only attack Trump. When it comes to over-reporting, CNN reports on Trump’s Russian contacts without mentioning Russian Amb. Sergey Kislyak.
Zucker exposed his anti-Trump bias without knowing it to his Jerusalem audience. “I think he [Trump] continues to believe that the media is insinuating that his presidency is not legitimate. That is not what is going on here. We are just trying to ask questions, we rare just trying to do reporting, we are just trying to do our job,” said Zucker, knowing that CNN’s daily Russian news story 100% de-legitimizes Trump. CNN doesn’t like to admit that all the hype about Trump’s Russian contacts advances the Hillary campaign narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin put Trump in the White House. CNN, not once, reported that Hillary winning nearly 3 million more popular votes rules out Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. Reporting daily on all its programs about Trump alleged ties to Russia continues the Hillary narrative that he stole the election.
