CNN is defending two of its top anchors, both of whom are slated to moderate Thursday’s first general election presidential debate, in the wake of accusations of bias coming from former President Trump’s campaign and its surrogates.
Igniting the fervor on Monday was a testy interview between CNN morning show host Kasie Hunt and Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who attacked moderator Jake Tapper.
Leavitt knocked CNN for selecting “debate moderators who have made their opinions about him very well known over the past eight years and their biased coverage of him,” leading Hunt to cut off the interview abruptly.
After a flurry of criticism from Trump’s allies on social media over the incident, CNN issued a statement defending Tapper and co-moderator Dana Bash on Monday afternoon.
“Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are well respected veteran journalists who have covered politics for more than five decades combined,” the network 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.” Read the Rest: CNN defends Bash and Tapper
