Finding a pro-Trump voice on CNN got more difficult this week as it was reported that the president has called upon former Virginia Attorney General and CNN contributor Ken Cuccinelli to fill a Homeland Security post.
Cuccinelli had been a contributor at the network until Tuesday when CNN’s John King mentioned he’s “no longer” a part of the commentator line-up, further thinning and already slim roster of right-wing viewpoints at the channel.
It’s common for news organizations to end contracts or stop compensating personalities when such a conflict of interest arises, but CNN in particular has struggled to keep conservatives on retainer in recent years.
The Turner news giant fired Trump backer Jeffrey Lord over a tweet joking about Nazis and removed Ed Martin following comments he made on his radio talk show that fellow CNN panelists he appeared with were “black racists.” Earlier this year onetime lieutenant governor of South Carolina Andre Bauer did not have his contributor contract renewed. Paris Dennard resigned from the network after the Washington Post uncovered he was fired from a previous job for alleged “masturbatory gestures.”
Add to this pile the dramatic resignations and departures of ex-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former administration official Marc Shortfrom the cable news outlet, and CNN’s brand as a middle-of-the-road news destination with balanced perspectives becomes increasingly hard to justify. The most high profile pro-Trump voices don’t stay put.
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