CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker reportedly held a breakfast to introduce Kamala Harris to the power players of New York while she was running for California attorney general a decade ago.
According to McClatchy, which drew on reporting from India Abroad, Zucker told those in attendance at the August 2009 event that “Kamala is not just important for the city of San Francisco, the state of California, but for the entire country.” He also pointed to a New York Times article that listed Harris as “among the 17 most likely women to become the first female president of the United States.”
He also maintained, “This is in fact, the first time I’ve ever done one of these, and that’s because I have a very, very strict policy because of my job. I’ve taken a position that I completely stay out of supporting candidates of any party and try to stay out of politics entirely.”
Zucker was president and CEO of NBC at the time and would not take over as the head of CNN until 2013.
The chief spokeswoman for CNN, Allison Gollust, confirmed to McClatchy that “Jeff hosted a small breakfast in New York for Kamala Harris when she was the District Attorney of San Francisco. He was then CEO of NBC Universal, and was introducing the DA to some of his colleagues in an informal setting. He has seen her a handful of times in the last 10 years, all in his capacity as a journalist. His relationship with the senator is no different than any other national politician, and he has never endorsed her, or anyone, in any capacity.”
The communications director for the Harris campaign told McClatchy that she and Zucker “talk when they see each other, like at the town halls, but that’s really the extent of it.”
Harris will feature in the second night of the next round of Democratic primary debates, which air Tuesday and Wednesday on CNN.
