A tense moment played out on CNN on Monday, June 24, when a spokesperson for Donald Trump made disparaging comments about two fellow interviewers.
CNN’s Kasie Hunt included Trump’s national press secretary, Caroline Leavitt CNN this morning to discuss the upcoming presidential debate between Trump, 78, and President Joe Biden, 81. The event — set for Thursday, June 27 — will be moderated by Hunt’s fellow CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump have arranged for 2 presidential debates in June and September
When Hunt, 39, asked Leavitt, 26, how the former president would prepare for the debate, Trump’s spokeswoman said: “President Trump knows what he wants to say and will deliver his vision to the American people to make this country strong, safe, secure and rich.”
“He did it in this great nation in every corner of this country,” Leavitt continued.
“And that’s why President Trump is knowingly walking into a hostile environment on this very network, on CNN, with debate moderators who have made their opinion of him very well known over the past eight years and their biased coverage of him.”
Jake Tapper speaks during ‘CNN’s 2019 Democratic Town Hall’ Gary Miller/FilmMagic
Hunt then defended Tapper, 55, and Bash, 53, saying they “acted like professionals because they covered campaigns and interviewed candidates from all sides of the aisle.”
She added that “if you attack the moderators, you usually lose,” and reiterated that she was more interested in hearing about Trump’s specific plans for this debate.
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Leavitt, however, tried to double down on her previous argument regarding Tapper and Trump. Hunt cut Leavitt off before she could say anything more, bringing the interview to an abrupt end.
“Ma’am, we will stop this interview if you intend to continue attacking my colleagues,” Hunt said. The camera panned away from Leavitt as Hunt thanked her for taking the time to appear on CNN and suggested she was welcome back anytime if she wanted to talk about Trump.
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Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, appears in Manhattan criminal court on May 29, 2024 to support her boss ahead of his criminal sentencing.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Bloomberg via Getty
In response to Monday’s heated interview, a CNN spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement that “Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are respected veteran journalists who have covered politics for more than five decades together.”
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“They have extensive experience moderating major political debates, including CNN’s Republican presidential primary debate this cycle,” the spokesperson continued. “There are no two people better equipped to co-moderate a meaningful, fact-based debate, and we look forward to the debate on June 27 in Atlanta.”
The first debate on the 2024 general election is due to start at 9pm on Thursday, with the second on September 10, hosted by ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis.
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