NEW YORK — Chris Cuomo on Thursday said that President-elect Trump’s hostile reaction to CNN’s story on his potential Russia ties validated the network’s reporting.
Cuomo, the anchor of CNN’s morning show, “New Day,” didn’t contribute to the politically charged story revealing that Trump was briefed by U.S. intelligence about the possibility Moscow might target him for espionage and that officials wanted him to be aware of that.
But in a wide-ranging interview with “Examining Politics,” the Washington Examiner’s weekly podcast, Cuomo defended his CNN colleagues’ reporting and said the network was doing its job of bringing to light credible and relevant information about the next president of the United States.
That Trump labeled CNN “fake news” in response during his Wednesday news conference only further convinced Cuomo that the story was legitimate.
“What they said is true, and my challenge is a simple one to critics: I get that you don’t like this story — if you’re from the right, or you’re a follower of Trump, or you’re a fan of his, I get it. You shouldn’t like the story,” Cuomo said. “But tell us what we reported that is untrue.”
“What do I make of the president-elect’s response? It is who he is, and it is how he wants to be. He is thin-skinned,” Cuomo added. “He likes to attack his critics; he enjoys it he thinks that it works to his advantage. I think he’s right. I think attacking CNN as ‘fake news’ works for his base.”
Cuomo anchors “New Day” weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Eastern Time with Alisyn Camerota from Time Warner Center in New York.
As a native New Yorker — Cuomo’s father is the late New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and his brother sitting Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats — he has known Trump for several years and has dealt with him personally and professionally.
Cuomo said that Trump’s overriding priority is to be liked, more so, in his opinion, than past presidents.
“I think that Donald Trump wants to be liked very, very much — maybe even more than presidents past in recent history. I think that popularity is more a measure for him than principle at this stage,” he said.
Cuomo also said that Trump’s aggressive approach to the media, and habit of commenting on all sorts of topics, presents a challenge to journalists in terms of balancing showing respect for the office of the presidency with their job of holding public officials accountable.
“One, gotta respect the office, and I think that people often feel that that’s a hedge. It isn’t,” Cuomo said. “You have to respect the office and what it means. Part of the respect of that office is holding it to account and testing power.”
For more, listen to “Examining Politics” at the Examiner’s website, on iTunes, or on PodcastOne.com
