President Trump condemned CNN host Chris Cuomo on Wednesday after a small portion of a recorded conversation was revealed, showing he made dismissive remarks about sexual misconduct allegations swirling around ABC.
“Will Fredo be fired by Fake News @CNN? He speaks with great disrespect about women, and it will only get worse. Fredo’s Ratings are bad, so this is the time. Always terrible to speak to sleazebags, especially when you are being recorded. CNN has no choice, Fredo must go!” Trump tweeted.
Fredo is a nickname Trump and other critics have attached to Cuomo, a reference to the “weak brother” from The Godfather.
Will Fredo be fired by Fake News @CNN? He speaks with great disrespect about women, and it will only get worse. Fredo’s Ratings are bad, so this is the time. Always terrible to speak to sleazebags, especially when you are being recorded. CNN has no choice, Fredo must go! https://t.co/veVwg7G1YF
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 2, 2020
Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired a roughly 60-second clip of Cuomo’s conversations with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen on his show Tuesday night. The clip is a small excerpt of what is reported to be a much longer, nearly two-hour-long discussion that Cuomo claims was supposed to be off-the-record.
In the clip, Cuomo told Cohen that he does not trust the media because they have investigated some of the sexual harassment allegations that were leveled against him while he worked at ABC between 2000 and 2013.
[Read more: What we know about CNN host Chris Cuomo’s ‘shocking’ conversation with Michael Cohen revealed by Tucker Carlson]
“You know, I’m always careful when I talk to media. Do you know how many f—ing phone calls I’ve gotten from people at ABC who say that reporters are calling and lying about things they’ve heard about me to try to get stories about me when I was at ABC? Guys calling and saying, ‘I heard he was the Charlie Rose of ABC. He used to invite women to a hotel and open his bathrobe.’ Do I look like the kind of f—ing guy who’s gotta do that?” Cuomo said.
CNN has yet to address the tape.
Trump has similarly had a recorded conversation reveal his unflattering remarks about women. Days before the 2016 election, a hot mic recording of Trump speaking to Billy Bush, then of Access Hollywood, emerged in which he could be heard discussing how powerful men could grab women.
