On a recent episode of Fox News’ primetime show, Jesse Watters raised concerns about CNN’s decision to impose a gag order on the Trump campaign just days before the upcoming presidential debate.
According to Watters, “CNN just slapped a gag order on the Trump campaign, days before the debate. We knew Trump’s mic would be muted during the debate, but we didn’t know his campaign’s mic would be muted before it. You can go on CNN and lie about Trump, Russia, call Republicans racist, Nazis, but you can’t say Tapper’s biased. If Jake’s not biased, why is he celebrating Trump losing?”
CNN just slapped a gag order on The Trump campaign— days before the CNN debate.
We knew Trump’s mic would be muted during the debate, but we didn’t know his campaign’s mic would be muted before it. pic.twitter.com/8S6XlZ0VLB [1]
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) June 25, 2024 [2]
Expressing dismay over the fairness of the upcoming debate, Watters highlighted concerns about the media’s treatment of the presidential candidates. “They’re not only gagging the Trump campaign but also feeding Biden tips,” he added, suggesting a double standard in the network’s conduct.
Podcaster Tim Pool also weighed in, stating, “CNN is now threatening any social channels that provide commentary on the debate stating they will not allow the use outside of CNN Commentary on a presidential debate is the epitome of fair use and we fully intend to provide insight and real-time fact-checking Thursday LIVE.” Elon Musk responded: “The public has a right to see Presidential debates however they would like. DMCA does not apply.”
The public has a right to see Presidential debates however they would like. DMCA does not apply.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 25, 2024 [3]
The controversy further erupted after CNN’s Kasie Hunt abruptly cut off Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt [4], when she brought up Jake Tapper’s history of comparing Trump to Hitler.
In response, Leavitt criticized Hunt, stating, “You cut off my microphone for bringing up the debate moderator’s history of anti-Trump lies. This proved our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly on Thursday.”
The first presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden is scheduled for Thursday evening at 9 pm ET and will be hosted by CNN in Atlanta, with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash as moderators. With both moderators known for their critical views of Trump, concerns are mounting about the fairness and objectivity of the debate on this divisive network.