An interview between former President Donald Trump’s campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt and CNN’s Kasie Hunt got heated on Monday, just days before the network will host the first 2024 presidential debate.
Leavitt appeared on CNN This Morning, and Hunt asked her what Trump was doing to prepare for the debate. Leavitt contended Trump was “well prepared” for this debate and that the former president will do as he has done at recent rallies and lay out his vision for a second presidential term.
“And 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 in their biased coverage of him,” Leavitt said. “So, President Trump is willing to bring his message to every corner of this country, to voters, to ensure that he wins this election in November. He looks forward to doing that, and I know the American public look forward to hearing from him.”
Hunt argued her fellow CNN anchors and the debate’s moderators, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, are “professionals” and contended that a candidate attacking the moderators is losing his election.
About a minute later in the interview, Hunt asked Leavitt what she expects from President Joe Biden in the debate, with Leavitt referencing Tapper’s previous aggressions toward Trump. This prompted Hunt to talk over Leavitt and warn she would end the interview if she kept “attacking my colleagues.” Hunt then abruptly ended the interview, claiming that Leavitt would be welcome back on the network in the future.
However, she followed up her on-air statement on X without specifically naming Leavitt, writing, “You come on my show, you respect my colleagues.”
“I don’t care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows,” Hunt’s post read.
Leavitt reposted Hunt’s statement on X and argued her mic getting cut mid-interview “proved our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly on Thursday.”
“Yet he is still willing to go into this 3-1 fight to bring his winning message to the American people, and he will win,” Leavitt wrote.
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The CNN debate was discussed on Sunday by Eric Trump, who predicted his father would have to debate the network in addition to Biden. The former president’s son argued that Tapper “compared my father to Hitler” and predicted CNN would give Biden “a free pass.”
The matchup on Thursday will feature several new rules, including no prewritten notes, no public audience, and mics will be cut when it is not a candidate’s turn to talk. There will also only be two breaks throughout the 90-minute debate, and neither candidate can converge with his campaign staff during these breaks.