President Trump mocked CNN’s Chris Cuomo for the second time this week, saying Thursday the cable news host should be moved from primetime back to a morning slot because of his “really bad” ratings.
“.@CNN should move Fredo back to the morning slot,” Trump said of Cuomo, referring to him as “Fredo,” a character from “The Godfather.” “He was rewarded for bad ratings with a much better time slot - and again got really bad ratings. Getting totally trounced by @FoxNews . Give him another shot in the morning - He would easily beat Morning Joe’s poorly rated show!”
On Wednesday, Trump said Cuomo should have his pay cut because of low viewership.
“Can’t believe how badly @CNN has done in the newly released TV ratings,” Trump wrote. “They are so far below @FoxNews (thank you President Trump!) that you can barely find them. Fredo should be given a big pay cut! MSDNC also did poorly. As I have long said, Fake News does not pay!!!”
All three networks set ratings records for the second quarter of 2020 but Fox News was ahead of MSNBC, averaging 3.57 million viewers in primetime nightly to MSNBC’s 2 million. CNN came in last among the three, with 1.81 million primetime viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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While CNN’s ratings were well below those of Fox News, CNN still reported the highest ratings of its history in the second quarter and Cuomo had the highest-rated show on his network, Mediaite reported.
In total viewers in the time slot, however, Cuomo came in third (2.21 million), behind MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in second (3.2 million).
Fox News' Sean Hannity finished first at 4.31 million, his highest ratings ever, according to Nielson Media Research, The Hill reported.
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In a separate tweet Wednesday, Trump congratulated "Fox & Friends" on its ratings, slammed MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and called CNN a “mess.”
Cuomo had a contentious interview this week in which he dismissed the concerns of a St. Louis homeowner who brandished a gun during a Black Lives Matter protest. The homewoner, Mark McCloskey, told Cuomo he was trying to protect his home from "mobsters" who had broken a gate to enter the private street in front of his house.
Cuomo and Trump frequently trade criticisms of each other.