CNN journalists avoided mentioning the most sordid elements of President Donald Trump’s past—including his felony conviction and two impeachments—during inauguration day broadcasts after the network’s top boss told them to show some deference to the most powerful person on earth.
That’s according to a report in media news publication Status, authored by the well-sourced erstwhile CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy.
During a routine editorial meeting on Sunday, meant to plan the extensive logistics of an inauguration, CNN CEO Mark Thompson told journalists to avoid “pre-judging Trump,” Status reported.
In addition to instructing them to keep an open mind about Trump’s second term—three days in, the president has already launched attacks on birthright citizenship, pardoned violent insurrectionists, and withdrawn from the World Health Organization and Paris climate agreement—Thompson told his journalists he does not want CNN’s “coverage to relitigate the past.”
Among those in attendance were Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper, star anchors who have long reported on Trump’s record of scandals, opining at length on everything from sexual misconduct allegations made against him by over two dozen women to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
That previous coverage, however, came under the leadership of former boss Jeff Zucker, who threw the weight of CNN at Trump during the president’s first term in office, allowing on-air talent to directly address his stream of falsehoods.
Thompson would have none of that and urged talent to withhold expressions of indignation aimed at Trump or his conduct.
When the call with Thompson wrapped up, no one spoke up, Status said, suggesting the message to treat the president with kid gloves had been received. (Status had earlier reported on the softball coverage that went to air Monday, including an uncharacteristically muted Tapper.)
“[Thompson] does not want them endlessly poking the eye of the sitting president and believes that Trump should be shown some deference,“ Darcy wrote. ”And he has made it clear that he wants the MAGA movement to have a seat at the table when discussing political topics... even if certain pundits do use the platform to make incendiary and sometimes false claims."
The day after the inauguration, Thompson addressed CNN’s daily editorial meeting again. He doubled down on his instruction from two days earlier, Status reported, though did tell them they could be “fair-minded” without being “tough-minded.”
CNN did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
