© CNNCNN's Kasie Hunt and Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt on CNN This Morning on June 24, 2024.
Appearing Monday on CNN's This Morning, a spokeswoman for former President Donald Trump tried to answer a question about the coming contests between Trump and President Joe Biden by pointing out the documented prejudices of debate moderator Jake Tapper.
But Tapper's CNN colleague Kasie Hunt wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise.
The clash started when Hunt asked Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt what she expected from Biden at the debate — prefacing it with a video of Trump basically mocking the incumbent's abilities.
When Leavitt started to respond by calling into question the inherent unfairness of Tapper as the debate moderator — given his history of on-air anti-Trump behavior — Hunt got into a Huff.
"Ma'am, we're going to stop this interview if you continue to attack my colleague," she cut in.
"I would like to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who you work for, yes?" Hunt said. "If you are here to speak on his behalf, then I am willing to have this conversation."
Will Thursday's debate be moderated fairly?
When Leavitt answered she was merely "stating facts," the CNN host called the whole thing off.
Leavitt's microphone was cut and she disappeared from the air as Hunt explained.
"Now, I'm sorry. We're going to come back after the panel. 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 now ... at next, early, later this week, in Atlanta for this debate."
Hunt later attempted to defend her move in a social media post.
"You come on my show, you respect my colleagues. Period," she wrote. "I don't care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows."
But many commenters weren't having it.
The problem with Hunt's position is that what Leavitt was probably getting to was that Trump's performance in the debate will depend very much on his treatment by moderators Tapper and CNN's Dana Bash, both known liberal figures, and conservatives have scant reason to believe they won't bring their political biases to the table.
Leavitt made that clear in her own social media post after the interview.
"You cut off my microphone for bringing up the debate moderator's history of anti-Trump lies," she said. "This proved our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly on Thursday."
A Trump spokeswoman who didn't bring that to her answer about a prediction of the debate performance wouldn't be doing her job.
And a CNN interviewer who cut her off for doing so wouldn't be doing her job — if her job was actually to allow the Trump side to address CNN viewers.
If her job was to manipulate the conversation to present Biden in the best possible light and Trump in the worst, however, that's exactly the move she would make.
If this is how CNN is handling the run-up to Thursday's clash in Atlanta, the bias that's on display at the actual event should be a blast indeed.
Now, about media bias..... money talks.