CNN’s Brian Stelter wondered aloud whether President Trump’s decision to declare John Bolton as his new national security adviser Thursday evening wasn’t a ploy to distract from an “unflattering” CNN interview with former Playboy model Karen McDougal on her alleged extramarital affair with Trump.
Minutes before the cable news network’s extensive interview with McDougal, Stelter told anchor Erin Burnett that it was “interesting” that Bolton said minutes beforehand that he wasn’t expecting an announcement today.
After noting that Bolton was in the Oval Office earlier in the day, Stelter said, “I’m not a big fan of the whole argument of trump always trying to distract us … I just have to wonder if he’s once again making a big announcement to try to take away from an unflattering story.”
Bolton said he “didn’t expect an announcement this afternoon.” So I can’t help but wonder: Did Trump oust McMaster and hire Bolton to distract from CNN’s interview with Karen McDougal? https://t.co/Oby6opoAZY
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 23, 2018
Burnett concurred, calling her colleague Anderson Cooper’s exclusive sit-down with McDougal “an important interview.”
During that interview, which lasted an hour and a half, McDougal discussed her alleged 10-month sexual relationship with Trump between 2006 and 2007.
Earlier this week, McDougal became the second woman to sue to be released from a 2016 legal agreement requiring her silence regarding the alleged affair, following a lawsuit by former porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump has denied the affairs.
