On Monday morning, CNN anchor Kasie Hunt abruptly ended her interview with Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. The interview aired during CNN’s “This Morning,” just three days before the network is set to host the first Trump-Biden debate on Thursday.
Fighting Words From Team Trump
The tension escalated when Leavitt accused the debate moderators, Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, of having a bias against President Trump.
“That’s why President Trump is knowingly going into a hostile environment on this very network, on CNN, with debate moderators who have made their opinions about him very well known over the past eight years and their biased coverage of him,” Leavitt stated, previewing the upcoming debate.
Visibly annoyed by Leavitt’s remarks, Hunt defended her colleagues. “I’ll just say my colleagues, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, have acquitted themselves as professionals as they have covered campaigns and interviewed candidates from all sides of the aisle. I’ll also say that if you talk to analysts of previous debates, that if you’re attacking the moderators, you’re usually losing.”
Fox News reports:
After Hunt tried to steer the conversation back to the debate, Leavitt told Hunt that it would take just five minutes to research Tapper and his commentary on the former president.
“Ma’am, I’m going to stop this interview if you’re going to continue to attack my colleagues,” Hunt said.
After Leavitt argued she was stating facts about Bash and Tapper, Hunt cut the interview off, her voice rising as she went back to the panel.
“I would like to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, whom you work for,” Hunt said. When Leavitt continued, Hunt signaled to cut her off.
“I’m sorry, guys, we’re going to come back out to the panel,” Hunt said, clearly fuming. “Karoline, thank you very much for your time. You are welcome to come back at any point. She is welcome to come back and speak about Donald Trump, and Donald Trump will have equal time to Joe Biden when they both join us later this week in Atlanta for this debate.”
Thursday’s Debate: What You Need to Know
The first 2024 presidential debate featuring President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is scheduled for Thursday, June 27, at 9 p.m. (ET).
CNN will host the event at their Atlanta studios, without a live studio audience.
The debate will have strict rules. When one candidate isn’t speaking, their microphone will be muted. Each candidate will have only a pen, paper and water at their podium. There will be two commercial breaks during the 90-minute event.
Viewers can watch the debate live on multiple platforms, including CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and streaming on Max (formerly HBO Max). The debate is the first of two agreed upon by both campaigns, with the second one scheduled for September 10, hosted by ABC News.
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