CNN Cuts Away from Trump 2020 Kickoff Speech After Crowd Chants 'CNN Sucks'
Less than a minute after the crowd at a Trump rally at the Amway Center in Orlando chanted “CNN sucks,” the network cut away from the speech to criticize the president for his “attack” on media.
The moment came Tuesday night as President Donald Trump officially kicked off his re-election bid with a huge gathering in the swing state of Florida.
Four minutes into his speech, Trump talked about his election as a “defining moment in American history.”
He pointed to the news cameras that were aimed at him and said, “Ask them right there.”
At that point, the large crowd booed the networks and began to chant, “CNN sucks.”
Trump pointed to the cameras once again and said, “By the way, that is a lot of fake news.”
The crowd cheered once more.
The president continued to slam the networks.
The “amount of press we have tonight reminds me of the Academy Awards before it went political and their ratings went down the tubes,” Trump said.
At that point, CNN cut away — just six minutes into his speech — to opine on what Trump just said.
“All right. We’ve been watching the president kick off his re-election bid. He’s been on stage for about six minutes,” CNN’s John Berman said. “Within two minutes, he did talk about the economy, but within four minutes it was attacks on the media.
“He was talking about a bright, rosy future,” Berman said. “But then quickly reverted to some of the same themes he has been talking about since he began running for president.”
It’s no secret that CNN and Trump have long been at odds with one another.
Trump often criticizes the network for its low ratings.
Last month he tweeted, “Wow! CNN Ratings are WAY DOWN, record lows. People are getting tired of so many Fake Stories and Anti-Trump lies. Chris Cuomo was rewarded for lowest morning ratings with a prime time spot – which is failing badly and not helping the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon!”
Wow! CNN Ratings are WAY DOWN, record lows. People are getting tired of so many Fake Stories and Anti-Trump lies. Chris Cuomo was rewarded for lowest morning ratings with a prime time spot – which is failing badly and not helping the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2019
Likewise, the network has also taken its shots at Trump, even running an entire segment criticizing the president’s Diet Coke habits.
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