Soledad O’Brien scorches CNN for booking Trump flacks to say ‘crazy stuff’ for ratings

Responding to a tweet from CNN media analyst Brian Stelter saying he was "gobsmacked" by a CNN discussion over a comment made by Trump 2020 spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany, former CNN and MSNBC contributor Soledad O'Brien called him out, saying inviting guests on to say outrageous things is part of the network's strategy.

Late Monday night Stelter tweeted, "Kayleigh McEnany says Dems have "zero chance at winning legitimately" in 2020. She's "sowing the seeds of fundamental distrust in our electoral process," @margarethoover said on @CNNTonight. I was gobsmacked."

According to O'Brien, who has become an avid critic of the way the major cable networks cover politics, Stelter should know better than to be surprised.

"Brian’s boss Zucker on McEneny. GQ/April 2017," O'Brien began in a multi-tweet response on Twitter. "She’s a character 'in a drama' “Everybody says, ‘Oh, I can’t believe you have Jeffrey Lord or Kayleigh McEnany,’ but you know what? Zucker told me with some satisfaction. 'They know who Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany are'."

O'Brien then followed up with what ails CNN's panel broadcasts.

"So—I don’t think you’re ‘gobsmacked,'" she lectured. "In fact, I think if Kayleigh still worked for CNN, as a paid contributor, you would book her for your show ‘to discuss thoughtfully her latest statements’, crazy as they are. Remember-Jeff Lord stayed employed til he tweeted the nazi slogan."

She added, "I think this is—in part—why distrust in the media is so high. I think viewers understand this disingenuousness. They get that some interviewees are just booked—and rebooked—because they’re willing to say crazy stuff, regardless of whether it’s true."

You can see all the tweets below: