Ted Koppel Rips CNN, MSNBC: ‘CNN’s Ratings Would Be In The Toilet Without Donald Trump!’
Veteran journalist Ted Koppel slammed CNN and MSNBC for their around-the-clock negative coverage of President Donald Trump, and said that the cable news networks’ ratings would collapse without Trump.
Koppel — a former ABC News anchor and winner of 25 Emmy Awards — said that CNN and MSNBC love to attack Trump, yet desperately need him because they know he’s a cash cow who delivers monster ratings for them.
“Money, money… Donald Trump has been wonderful for the [media] industry,” Koppel told CNN pundit Brian Stelter at a National Press Club discussion.
Stelter conceded that CNN’s ratings have skyrocketed as much as 40 percent because of its nonstop, 24-hour coverage of President Trump, but claimed it’s not true that CNN “needs” Trump.
‘You Would Be Lost Without Trump’
CNN’s ratings have lagged far behind rival cable news network Fox News since 1996, when FNC first launched.
Since then, Fox News has consistently beaten CNN every hour of the day for the past 22 years, the Hill reported.
Koppel said it’s no wonder CNN spends all its time covering Trump.
“You can’t do without Donald Trump,” Koppel told Stelter. “You would be lost without Donald Trump! CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Donald Trump.”
Video: To consternation of @BrianStelter, Ted Koppel contended during 10/1 Kalb Report @PressClubDC: “You would be lost without @realDonaldTrump. CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Trump.” Stelter: “Ted, you know that’s not true. You’re playing for laughs.” #NPCLive pic.twitter.com/XGZl9yNzqh
— Brent Baker ?? (@BrentHBaker) October 3, 2018
When Brian Stelter bristled at the remarks, Ted Koppel pivoted to discussing MSNBC, noting that talking about CNN appeared to be a “sensitive subject” for Stelter. The audience erupted into laughter at Koppel’s observation.
“Let’s go to MSNBC,” Koppel said. “Is there a moment of the day when they are not focusing on Donald Trump or some intimately-related subject?”
CNN Founder: I Wish CNN Had A ‘More Balanced Agenda’
Koppel’s criticism comes just days after CNN founder Ted Turner said that he’s disappointed with the direction that the 24-hour cable news channel he launched in 1980 has taken in recent years.
The billionaire mogul said he wishes CNN covered less politics than it does now and promoted a “more balanced agenda,” as the Inquisitr previously reported.
Turner’s lament that CNN is focusing too much on negative political coverage has trickled down to other segments of society.
As the Inquisitr has reported, more than a dozen angry people heckled and walked out of Wanda Sykes’ comedy show after her anti-Trump jokes flopped.
Fans complained that Sykes’ comedy routine was not funny — and was too political.
Audience members reportedly heckled Wanda Sykes after she started her comedy routine with a series of jokes slamming President Trump. One attendee yelled, “Do some comedy!” Another reportedly shouted, “Too political!”
One woman, who said she’s not a Trump supporter, said she didn’t want to spend her evening watching a comedian trash Trump all night.
“I paid for a comedy show, not for a political venue,” the woman said. “First of all, you don’t bash our president. I am not a Trump supporter, but he is my president, and I would never bash my president.”
