Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt criticized CNN for cutting her off mid-interview on Monday morning, but said that despite the incident, Donald Trump would still participate in Thursday night’s debate.
Leavitt was on CNN to talk about the first presidential debate, which the network is hosting. In his interview, he argued that moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are “biased” when it comes to Trump.
CNN anchor Kasie Hunt, who was conducting the interview, objected and interrupted Leavitt, taking her off the air.
Leavitt said the incident “simply proves our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly in Thursday’s debate.”
‘CNN cutting off my microphone for bringing up a debate moderator’s history of anti-Trump lies simply proves our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly in Thursday’s debate. “However, President Trump is still willing to enter this fight 3-1 to deliver his winning message to the American people, and he will win,” he said.
CNN’s Kasie Hunt Interrupts Trump Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt in Interview
Meanwhile, Hunt tweeted about the incident and said his colleagues should be “respected.”
‘You come to my show, you respect my colleagues. Period. “I don’t care which side of the aisle you’re on, as my record clearly shows,” he wrote on X.
Leavitt was on the cable news network as part of the buildup to the first presidential debate.
He accused Biden of “hiding” as Trump prepared to “enter a hostile environment on this very network with debate moderators who have made their opinions of him known for the last eight years.”
He also said Tapper and Bash are “biased,” prompting Hunt to intervene and insist they were “professional.”
“Ma’am, let’s stop right there if you’re going to continue attacking my colleagues,” Hunt warned. “I’d like to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who he works for.”
But when Leavitt tried to make his point, Hunt interrupted and the two spoke for several seconds before Hunt quickly ended the interview.
‘Sorry guys… Karoline, thank you very much for your time. “You’re welcome to come back any time,” Hunt suddenly declared.
Donald Trump has been downplaying expectations ahead of Thursday’s debate.
Trump’s campaign has been downplaying expectations for the former president ahead of Thursday’s debate.
At a rally in Wisconsin last week, Trump argued that he will debate not only Biden but also the two CNN debate moderators, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, whom he says he doesn’t like.
“I’m going to debate with three people instead of half one person,” he said.
The former president is at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to prepare for Thursday’s event.
He has also been practicing his lines of attack in public.
At a rally in Philadelphia this weekend, he noted, “It has been reported that right now Crooked Joe has gone to a log cabin to study and prepare.” No, he didn’t. He is now sleeping because they want him to be healthy and strong.
Biden is taking refuge at Camp David, where he has been since Friday, drawing up his strategy with his advisors. He is focused on holding Trump accountable for his record and coming up with one-liners to throw the former president off track.
He will participate in mock debates, in which Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal lawyer, is expected to portray Trump.
Neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden have been on the debate stage since 2020; Above they are seen in their last debate on October 22, 2020.
President Joe Biden likes to do prep work at Camp David; Above, he and his team prepare for the State of the Union address at Camp David in March.
Neither has been on the debate stage in years.
Biden had no serious Democratic primary challenger and Trump refused to participate in the Republican primary debates, which did not hurt him since he won the nomination.
On Thursday night in Atlanta, Biden will have the first word and Trump the last. The campaigns participated in a drawing with the CNN anchor last week to determine the order of speeches and podium position.
When one candidate is speaking, the other’s microphone will be muted. There are also no opening statements expected and candidates will have two minutes to answer questions.
There will be no public in the auditorium.
The debate will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks. Starts at 9 pm ET.
After the debate, the two candidates will hit the road: Biden will head to North Carolina to campaign, while Trump will be in Virginia.