CNN allowed multiple contributors with significant political stature to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden on-air in recent weeks.
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe endorsed Biden during the network’s coverage of the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29. Biden ran away with the contest, beginning a winning streak that resuscitated a floundering campaign.
McAuliffe’s endorsement came days before Virginians took to the ballot box to select the next Democratic presidential nominee — a state Biden also won on Super Tuesday.
“I’m going to endorse Joe Biden,” McAuliffe told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “I’ve thought long and hard about this. For me, it’s about beating Donald Trump, and to me, it’s an electability issue — who has the best shot of beating Donald Trump.”
McAuliffe joined the network as a commentator in June after deciding not to enter the presidential race himself.
Fellow CNN contributor former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm also endorsed the former vice president on-air. She made the endorsement on New Day on Wednesday.
“Who was the person inside the Obama administration to champion saving the auto industry and the million jobs that are attached to it in the industrial Midwest? It was Joe Biden,” Granholm said, before revealing she had helped Biden with debate preparation earlier this election cycle.
Granholm also said it was “no surprise” she was backing Biden because “I love him so much.”
Former Michigan Gov. @JenGranholm endorses Joe Biden live on @CNN’s @NewDayhttps://t.co/BfAdw4PJD8 pic.twitter.com/8T75fISVGC
— New Day (@NewDay) March 4, 2020
The former vice president won the Michigan primary on Tuesday. The two-term vice president’s decisive victory means he’ll be awarded a majority of the state’s 125 pledged delegates, another significant blow to his last remaining main rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won the state in 2016.
In both cases, McAuliffe and Granholm were prompted by the anchors to deliver an announcement.
As Biden’s strong showing in Michigan and other states in Tuesday’s primaries became clear, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang threw his support behind the former vice president.
“I believe that Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee, and I’ve always said I’m going to support whoever the nominee is. So, I hereby am endorsing Joe Biden to be not just the nominee for the Democratic Party, but the next president of the United States,” he said.
Yang, an entrepreneur before his presidential run, added that he supported Sanders in the 2016 primary contest and that the independent senator “inspired” him to run for the presidency.
CNN did not respond to a request for comment regarding policies about on-air endorsements.
