Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt slammed CNN for cutting her off mid-interview on Monday morning but said, 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 her interview she argued moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are ‘biased’ when it came to Trump.
CNN anchor Kasie Hunt, who was conducting the interview, objected and cut Leavitt off, taking her off the air.
Leavitt said the incident ‘just 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 just proves our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly in Thursday’s debate. Yet President Trump is still willing to go into this 3-1 fight to bring his winning message to the American people, and he will win,’ she said.
CNN’s Kasie Hunt cut off Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt in an interview
Meanwhile Hunt tweeted about the incident, saying her colleagues must be ‘respected.’
‘You come on my show, you respect my colleagues. Period. I don’t care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows,’ she wrote on X.
Leavitt was on the cable news network as part of the ramp up to the first presidential debate.
She accused Biden of ‘hiding away’ while Trump was preparing to ‘go into a hostile environment on this very network with debate moderators who have made their opinions about him very well known over the past eight years.’
She also said Tapper and Bash are ‘biased’, prompting Hunt to jump in and insist they were ‘professional’.
‘Ma’am, we’re going to stop right there if you’re going to keep attacking my colleagues,’ Hunt warned. ‘I would like to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who you work for.’
But as Leavitt tried to make her point, Hunt interrupted and the two talked over one another for several seconds before Hunt promptly ended the interview.
‘I’m sorry guys … Karoline thank you very much for your time. You’re welcome to come back at any time,’ Hunt suddenly declared.
Donald Trump has been downplaying expectations ahead of Thursday’s debate
The Trump campaign has been downplaying expectations for the former president ahead of Thursday’s debate.
At a rally in Wisconsin last week, Trump argued he won’t just be debating Biden but also CNN’s two debate moderators – Jake Tapper and Dana Bash – who he says doesn’t like him.
‘I’ll be debating three people instead of one half of a person,’ he said.
The former president is at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., to prepare for Thursday’s event.
He’s also been practicing his attack lines in public.
At a rally in Philadelphia this weekend, he noted: ‘It’s been reported that right now, Crooked Joe’s gone to a log cabin to study, prepare. No, he didn’t. He’s sleeping now because they want to get him good and strong.’
Biden is holed up in Camp David, where he has been since Friday, plotting his strategy with advisers. He’s focused on holding Trump accountable on his record and coming up with punchy one-liners to throw off the former president.
He will participate in mock debates, where Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal attorney, is expected to play Trump.
Neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden have been on the debate stage since 2020 – above they are seen at 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 man has been on the debate stage in years.
Biden didn’t have a serious Democratic primary challenger and Trump refused to participate in the GOP primary debates – which didn’t harm him given he won the nomination.
On Thursday night in Atlanta, Biden will get the first word and Trump will get the last. The campaigns participated in a coin toss with host CNN last week to determine speaking order and podium position.
When one candidate is speaking, the other’s microphone will be muted. There also aren’t expected to be opening statements, and the candidates will have two minutes to answer questions.
There will be no audience in the auditorium.
The debate will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks. It begins 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.