Karoline Leavitt says CNN has ‘anti-Trump bias’ in wake of heated interview – Washington Examiner

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, argued that CNN’s core is made of “an anti-Trump bias” three days ahead of the network hosting the 2024 presidential debate.

Leavitt was booted off a CNN interview Monday morning when she was discussing the previous coverage of Trump by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who are moderating Thursday’s debate. In reflecting on her interview getting cut short, Leavitt contended that “fake” Tapper and Bash have “a long history of lies” about Donald Trump and that the former president appearing at this debate shows his willingness to share his message to voters.

“CNN censored me today because they can’t handle the truth,” Leavitt said on Fox News’s Hannity. “And they have been pushing lies about President Trump since he stepped into the political arena eight years ago. They propagated the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, they helped the Biden campaign censor the truth about the Hunter Biden laptop story, they pushed the Charlottesville hoax that a far-left outlet, finally seven years later, debunked yesterday, and they have an anti-Trump bias that is at the core of their organization, and we should not expect anything less from them at Thursday night’s debate.”

Leavitt added that CNN wants the public to “laughably” believe that the network is “the most trusted name in news,” which she said it is not. She also said CNN is an anti-Trump institution, “just like basically every other main institution in this country.”

CNN has defended Tapper and Bash ahead of the debate. A network spokesperson shared a statement with the Washington Examiner, arguing there are “no two people better equipped” to moderate this debate.

“Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are well respected veteran journalists who have covered politics for more than five decades combined,” the spokesperson said. “They have extensive experience moderating major political debates, including CNN’s Republican Presidential Primary Debate this cycle. 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.”

Thursday’s debate will pit Trump and President Joe Biden, the presumptive presidential nominees for their respective parties, against each other onstage a little more than four months before the election. The unusually early debate in the presidential election cycle was decided when Biden challenged Trump to a debate last month, to which the former president agreed.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

To prevent a debate similar to those in 2020, which featured Biden and Trump interrupting and talking over each other, CNN will cut the microphones of candidates when it is not their turn to talk. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a major critic of Trump, has expressed concern that the move could tamper down Trump’s “psycho-ness.”

Other new rules for Thursday’s debate include neither candidate being allowed to bring props or pre-written notes and no public audience. While CNN will host the debate, it will be aired across cable and broadcast networks.