A week after CNN's town hall with Donald Trump, the network's chief international anchor is joining in the backlash.
While accepting the prestigious Columbia Journalism Award this Wednesday, Christine Amanpour was revealed as the first major anchor at the network to voice their displeasure about the town hall directly to her boss.
She said she had met with CNN boss Chris Licht this week and that the two “had a very robust exchange of views” about the event. She said that Licht “welcomed that exchange of views,” but stood by his decision, CNN reported.
“I still respectfully disagree with allowing Donald Trump to appear in that particular format,” the veteran anchor told the Columbia Journalism School, of which she was a 2023 commencement speaker.
“I would have dropped the mic at ‘nasty person,’ but then that’s me,” Amanpour added, referring to the moment during the town hall when Trump turned to moderator Kaitlan Collins and insulted her for asking an adversarial question.
“Maybe we should revert back to the newspaper editors and TV chiefs of the 1950s, who in the end refused to allow McCarthyism onto their pages,” Amanpour said. “Unless his foul lies, his witch hunts and his rants reached the basic evidence level required in a court of law. His influence gradually decreased with all but his fervent colleagues and cults.”
“So maybe less is more,” she said. “Maybe live is not always right.”
“Some of the very best and even most fiery, compelling interviews are, in fact, taped and they are edited, not to change the context or the content or the truth or the intent, but to edit for filibuster and a stream of disinformation,” Amanpour added.
Read more at CNN.