Thursday, CNN's Brian Stelter theorized, both on the air and in a tweet, that the Trump administration timed its announcement of National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster's departure, and the appointment of former UN ambassador John Bolton as his replacement, to distract from his network's upcoming interview of Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who claims to have had an affair with Donald Trump over a decade ago. And they wonder why their ratings and their credibility continue to circle the drain.
Stelter must really believe that the world revolves around his network's programming, as seen in the following tweet (h/t Twitchy):
Here's the related broadcast snip:
Transcript:
BRIAN STELTER: I did think it was interesting how Bolton said just minutes ago that he wasn't expecting this announcement today. We know he was in the Oval Office, but he wasn't expecting this to come out.
I'm not a big fan of the whole argument of Trump always trying to distract us, but there is an interview that's about to air on this network with Karen McDougal, a woman accused, described in an alleged affair with him. And I just have to wonder if he's once again making a big announcement to take away from an unflattering story.
Good grief. The far more likely scenario is that, as has so often been the case, someone in the Trump administration couldn't keep their mouth shut for five minutes, leaked the news to the press, and caused the administration to move up its announcement.
As Nicholas Fondacaro at NewsBusters noted early Friday morning, the McDougal interview was a nothingburger. A CNN panel discussing the interview shortly after it occurred "didn’t know what to make of it, and most actually ripped into her for misleading reporters about her initial accusations against America Media Inc."
The absurdity of the notion that the McMaster-Bolton announcement was rushed to distract from the McDougal interview on the third-rated cable news network was too much for Fox News's Greg Gutfeld to resist (and who can blame him?):
Someone needs to remind CNN's insufferably self-important Stelter that he works for the cable news network which is running a distant third behind Fox News, which can barely see CNN in the rear-view mirror, and MSNBC.
Memo to Brian Stelter: This is not the late-1980s. CNN does not dominate the cable broadcast landscape. Domestically, it is currently on a trajectory towards becoming a bit player positioned to the left of The Young Turks. You guys aren't the big deal you once were. Get over yourself, and get used to it.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
