David Zaslav, CEO of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, defended the cable network’s viewership-challenged decision to broadcast City Hall with former President Donald Trump next week.
“He’s a frontrunner, he must be in our network,” Zaslav said Friday during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Zaslav, who was instrumental in forcing CNN to drop leftist comments that kept Trump from going surfing for years, said it was vital to offer the 2024 Republican presidential nominee a forum.
“We’re a divided government. We want to listen to each voices. That is what you see. Republicans are on CNN, Democrats are on air. All voices needs to be heard,” added Zaslav.
City Hall, which shall be held on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in St. Anselm College in Recent Hampshire, shall be moderated by CNN presenter Kaitlan Collins.
Zaslav didn’t address whether the network would have any system to censor or cut off Trump, who solid doubt on his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and was accused of instigating the January 6 riots.
A CNN spokesperson told The Post: “Our job, despite his unique circumstances, is to do what we do best: ask tough questions, track him down and hold him accountable for giving voters the data they should structure their selections.”
Last week, ABC News admitted to having edited statements by anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the COVID-19 vaccine in an exclusive interview with the longtime Democratic presidential candidate.
When asked about the potential for Trump being censored, CNN declined to comment on its on-air procedures and logistics.
Zaslav told CNBC that town hall shall be a chance to ascertain CNN as “a fact-based network – one of the best version of facts … great journalism and never just politics.”
Zaslav took over the reins of the media giant after WarnerMedia and Discovery merged for $43 billion last 12 months. He installed Chris Licht to exchange Jeff Zucker as CNN’s top executive, issuing marching orders to maneuver the network’s coverage back downtown.
“Once we do politics, we’ve to represent either side,” he told CNBC.
Mehdi Hasan, an MSNBC presenter, questioned the rival network’s decision to have a town hall with Trump.
“I hope CNN CEO Chris Licht doesn’t should apologize for giving Trump access to this platform in the identical way his predecessor Jeff Zucker needed to apologize for constantly hosting all Trump rallies on CNN in 2016.” Hasan said during his performance on Thursday.
He continued, “I personally wouldn’t interview a person who used live interviews to incite violence and lie.”
As well as, the non-profit women’s advocacy organization UltraViolet has began a petition to revoke City Hall.
“CNN’s decision to offer Trump a platform is dangerous,” reads the petition, which has garnered greater than 17,000 signatures as of Thursday night.
Zaslav joined CNBC after Warner Bros Discovery reported a surprise quarterly loss on merger-related expenses on Friday, taking the brilliance of its streaming business’s first profit.
The media company formed by the union of WarnerMedia and Discovery reported a $1.81 billion merger fee in the primary quarter, while reserving $95 million for restructuring expenses.