CNN ripped over Trump town hall
‘Reason’ senior editor Robby Soave tells ‘MediaBuzz’ left-wing criticisms over CNN having Donald Trump on is ‘crazy,’ maintaining it's journalist’s job to talk to him.
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy defiantly continued knocking his network's Trump town hall days after he was scolded by his boss over his "emotional" coverage.
Darcy broke his silence following his now-publicized exchange with CNN CEO Chris Licht with Monday night's installment of the "Reliable Sources" newsletter.
In the newsletter, Darcy cited a Mediaite article highlighting CNN's primetime viewership dive on Friday using the staring-eyes emoji.
However, unlike the Mediaite article, Darcy invoked CNN's "widely criticized town hall," suggesting it's linked to the ratings drop.
"Days after the widely criticized town hall with Donald Trump, CNN primetime on Friday averaged only 335,000 total viewers, drawing a smaller audience in the 8-11pm window than even the right-wing channel Newsmax. While it’s unclear if the viewership decline was connected to the town hall, it marked a rare ratings defeat," Darcy wrote.
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy may be on thin ice as he continues criticizing the network's Trump town hall despite being told by his bosses to not be "emotional." (Screenshot/CNN)
CNN viewership has fallen off a cliff since the polarizing town hall. The ratings-challenged network managed 2.3 million primetime viewers last Wednesday for the event that irked Darcy, but shed 77% of that audience the following evening when only 538,000 primetime viewers tuned in. As Darcy noted, CNN’s primetime viewership sunk even further to an average of 335,000 on Friday.
He later shared the newsletter that put a spotlight on his employer's shortcomings, tweeting "Still here and still going strong!"
It is unclear, however, how "strong" Darcy is going since Semafor reported earlier in the day that he had "wondered to colleagues whether he should resign or if he will be fired by the network."
A spokesperson for CNN told Fox News Digital "Oliver does not intend to resign."
Puck News first reported on Friday that Darcy was called in for a meeting on Thursday with CNN's top brass including Licht, who confronted him about his overzealous coverage of the backlash the network had received for the town hall. While Darcy stood by his work, the meeting left him "visibly shaken" since they "put the fear of God into him." Fox News Digital later confirmed the reporting.
"It can't be based on emotion, it's got to be based on fact," a source familiar with Licht's thinking told Fox News Digital about Darcy's coverage.
The source said Licht received a "ton" of messages from CNN staffers appalled by Darcy's newsletter, which emphasized how CNN and Licht were facing tense backlash "internally" as well as externally.
The messages, according to the source, were like "what the f---."
"I'm asking you to not be emotional," the source paraphrased what Licht told Darcy at the meeting, adding that he wanted nonemotional coverage applied to all news outlets, not just CNN.
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy reportedly considered resigning following a testy exchange he had with his boss Chris Licht. (CNN/Reuters)
Hours after the Trump town hall, Darcy joined the liberal pile-on towards CNN, writing in his newsletter, "It's hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening."
He complained about how Trump "lied" about various topics during the town hall despite attempted fact-checks by CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins, yet "CNN aired it all."
"On and on it went. It felt like 2016 all over again. It was Trump's unhinged social media feed brought to life on stage. And Collins was put in an uncomfortable position, given the town hall was conducted in front of a Republican audience that applauded Trump, giving a sense of unintended endorsement to his shameful antics," Darcy wrote. "Yes, some news was made… But for most of the night, the nation's eyes were transfixed on Trump's abuse of the platform that he was given."
Only time will tell whether the tone in Darcy's reporting will shift following the scolding he received from Licht. It did not appear to be the case in Monday's newsletter where he derided conservative reaction to the Durham Report that confirmed the unsubstantiated and politicized origins of the Trump-Russia investigation despite Darcy's own colleague Jake Tapper admitting it was "devastating" for the FBI and "exonerates" the former president to a degree.
Notably, Licht fired Darcy's media comrade Brian Stelter and canceled CNN's long-running program "Reliable Sources" last year. Darcy later took over the "Reliable Sources" newsletter, which had previously been authored by Stelter.
CNN has faced mountainous scorn from the left for hosting former President Trump for a town hall event. (Screenshot/CNN)
In the days leading up to and following the town hall, CNN was the target of left-wing critics blasting the network for giving Trump a platform, despite his status as the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race.
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CNN anchor Anderson Cooper attempted to defend the town hall while blasting the former president as well as the network's critics.
"You have every right to be outraged and angry and never watch this network again. But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?" Cooper lectured his liberal viewers.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this repot.