CNN staffers enraged at CEO's move to crush internal dissent over Trump town hall: report

CNN is reeling from overwhelmingly negative reviews of last week's town hall with former President Donald Trump at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, during which he aggressively talked over moderator Kaitlan Collins, told a series of lies too fast to fact-check, and spoke to a hand-picked audience of hardcore Republicans who, while they were instructed not to boo the former president, were allowed to cheer and laugh as he mocked author E. Jean Carroll's account of how he allegedly raped her.

Now, according to The Daily Beast's Confider newsletter, CNN's chief Chris Licht is trying to force employees to toe the company line about it — and his threats and heavy-handedness are beginning to anger staffers.

The drama began after top CNN reporter Oliver Darcy publicly criticized the town hall.

"Less than a year after Brian Stelter was shown the door, Oliver Darcy’s reported dressing down is an inflection point that CNN talent, executives, and staffers who spoke with Confider over the last few days said has marked an especially dark chapter of Licht’s now yearlong tenure," reported Lachlan Cartwright and Justin Baragona. "As Puck first reported, Licht pulled aside Darcy and his Reliable Sources editor Jon Passantino to scold the pair for their newsletter’s highly critical coverage of the town hall’s 'spectacle of lies' aired by CNN—an internal version of the intensely negative reviews that incensed Licht. The meeting took place shortly after a Thursday morning editorial call in which Licht unsubtly took a swipe at Darcy. Puck’s sources claimed the media reporter was 'visibly shaken' after the meeting because Licht and other execs had 'put the fear of God into him' and told him his coverage was 'too emotional.'"

According to the report, Licht's allies then went behind everyone's back to anonymously tell other news outlets that the rest of the staff was angry at Darcy — which upset staffers because in fact, many of them agreed with Darcy.

"While CNN employees were already troubled by the CEO’s actions after Puck’s story on Friday, it was a Fox News Digital follow-up article, in which an anonymous Licht ally claimed CNN staffers were 'appalled' by Darcy, that appears to have been a bridge too far for many," said the report. "'People are really bothered,' one CNN executive told Confider, noting that their phone had been ringing off the hook from network employees 'flipping out' over the situation. 'I heard zero complaints about Darcy’s newsletter—in fact, the opposite. People were glad someone was calling this out,' a CNN on-air personality added. 'And it’s a terrible look that he’s being muzzled or intimidated simply for saying what everyone is thinking. He’s not in PR. He’s a journalist.'"

The report continued that as all this was going on, Licht is meeting with Tim Alberta of The Atlantic for a media profile: "Alberta was in the audience for the Trump town hall, which was described to Confider as 'our Chernobyl' by one CNN staffer, as network spin doctors work overtime hoping to generate a glowing profile of the boss."

Licht himself has publicly come out in defense of the town hall's format, saying that "While we all may have been uncomfortable hearing people clapping" for the mockery of an alleged rape survivor, "that was also an important part of the story" and the people who did it represent "a large swath of America."