CNN Aftershocks: The Fallout for CEO Chris Licht After Trump Town Hall

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The former president’s appearance was torched across social media while the news channel’s staffers were “furious” and “embarrassed.” Will Licht pay a price?  

donald trump town hall chris licht cnn
Will CNN CEO Chris Licht regret the Trump Town Hall? (Getty, CNN)

CNN staffers were among those scandalized and embarrassed by former President Donald Trump’s town hall appearance on the network on Wednesday, despite CEO Chris Licht’s solemn statement to the channel’s newsroom on Thursday morning that “America was served very well by what we did last night.”

The CEO of CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery’s cherished news network, is walking a tightrope. While the town hall drove a huge ratings spike — 3.3 million viewers or roughly four to five times what that time slot usually gets — the existential question was obvious: What did the ratings bump cost the network’s credibility?

“Our old shop has seen many high highs and low lows, but tonight is a new darkest hour,” wrote a former CNN staffer in an alumni Facebook group page shared with TheWrap.

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