In a surprising turn of events, CNN, the network set to host the first 2024 presidential debate on Thursday, abruptly cut Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt’s microphone in the middle of an interview on Monday morning. This came after she pressed CNN host Kasie Hunt about the past behavior of the upcoming CNN debate moderators, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
From the moment the interview began, it was clear that tensions were high. Leavitt wasted no time in criticizing Bash and Tapper for their perceived bias, stating, “That’s why President Trump is knowingly going into a hostile environment on this very network, on CNN, with debate moderators who have made their opinions about him very well known over the past eight years. And their biased coverage of him.”
The attack didn’t seem to “So I’ll just say my colleagues, Jake Tapper, and Dana Bash, have acquitted themselves as professionals as they have covered campaigns and interviewed candidates from all sides of the aisle,” the CNN host said. “I’ll also say that if you talk to analysts of previous debates, that if you’re attacking the moderators, you’re usually losing.” After Leavitt argued that it would take just five minutes of research to find Jake Tapper’s prior biased coverage of Trump, Hunt decided enough was enough.
“Ma’am, I’m going to stop this interview if you’re going to continue to attack my colleagues,” she said as the Trump official attempted to get in a word. “I would like to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, whom you work for.” After Leavitt remained adamant to get her point across, the CNN anchor cut the interview short. “I’m sorry, guys, we’re going to come back out to the panel,” she said. “Karoline, thank you very much for your time. You are welcome to come back at any point. She is welcome to come back and speak about Donald Trump, and Donald Trump will have equal time to Joe Biden when they both join us later this week in Atlanta for this debate.”
“You come on my show, you respect my colleagues. Period,” Hunt wrote on X after the interview. “I don’t care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows.”
Leavitt responded to Hunt’s post, writing, “You cut off my microphone for bringing up the debate moderator’s history of anti-Trump lies. This proved our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly on Thursday. Yet he is still willing to go into this 3-1 fight to bring his winning message to the American people, and he will win.”
As we approach the upcoming CNN-hosted presidential debate on Thursday, the tense moment between the Trump campaign spokeswoman and Hunt is a cause for concern. It’s a clear indication that the ex-president is not just going to debate President Joe Biden, but also the moderators. President Trump himself acknowledged this during a campaign rally last week, stating, “I’ll probably be negotiating with three people, but that’s OK, I’ve done that before. I’ll be debating three people instead of one, instead of one-half of a person.”
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WATCH:
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