CNN laughs off Trump’s claim that boss Jeff Zucker could walk away from network
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Trump floated a “rumor” on Tuesday that CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker would step down – but the network appeared to laugh it off.
Zucker made headlines on Monday when Project Veritas published what a now-former CNN employee said is a recording of Zucker telling staffers to focus solely on impeachment even at the expense of other important news. The whistleblower said the recording essentially proves CNN’s anti-Trump bias and the president tweeted out his take on the situation.
“Now that we have found out that @CNN is a virtual fraud, rumor has it that Jeff Zucker will be resigning momentarily?” Trump tweeted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN BOSS JEFF ZUCKER ESCAPES QUESTIONS ABOUT OLD COLLEAGUE MATT LAUER
CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
However, the network's vice president of communications Matt Dornic replied directly to the president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Zucker, who began his career at NBC, rose from researcher all the way to president and CEO of NBC Universal. Along the way, he was responsible for increasing Donald Trump’s fame when he greenlighted “The Apprentice.”
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The duo has famously feuded since Trump’s foray into politics, with the president attacking the liberal network on a regular basis and accusing CNN of unfair coverage. Zucker has loaded CNN’s lineup with anti-Trump opinion hosts and the network’s communications team regularly fires back at the president from its verified Twitter account.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Zucker has been rumored to eventually be promoted to oversee all CNN's parent company WarnerMedia -- despite the cable channel's ratings troubles. The most-watched show on Zucker's network during the third quarter of 2019 was “Cuomo Prime Time,” which finished No. 23 overall, behind 14 different programs on Fox News and eight on MSNBC.