CNN President Jeff Zucker has put President Donald Trump’s attacks on his network down to three things.
In a new episode of David Axelrod’s “The Axe Files” podcast, Zucker claimed Trump’s overwhelming contempt for CNN came from its current relevance in the political landscape and its 1980s rise to prominence in New York at the same time as that of Trump.
It also “has to do with me,” said Zucker, who explained how his previously strong friendship with Trump was likely a factor:
“We’ve had this long, 20-plus year relationship, that for a long time was quite strong. And, you know, Donald Trump did not understand, in the end, that just because we were friends didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be subjected to the proper scrutiny. He thought CNN should give him a pass because we were friends. He thought CNN should be like Fox News and just give him glowing coverage all the time.”
Zucker noted that Trump “should get the coverage that is appropriate and that he deserves” but that he would not “get anything just because we’re friends.”
“So I think that he does hold that against me and CNN,” he added.
Check out Zucker’s comments from the 59-minute mark below: