... against President Trump, Tucker Carlson … ‘He [Trump] is Acting Erratically, and I Think We Need to Lean into That’ … ‘You Have to Talk About The Naked Racism of Tucker Carlson…White Supremacy Hour They Have on Fox News'

 

• CNN President Jeff Zucker: “This is a president who knows he's losing, who knows
  he's in trouble, is sick, maybe is on the aftereffects of steroids or not. I don't know. But he is acting erratically and desperately, and we need to not normalize that.”

• Zucker: “You know, this is what we've come to expect for the last three and a half years, four years, but it clearly is exacerbated by the time that we're in and the issues that he's [Trump] dealing with. I think that we cannot just let it be normalized. He is all over the place and acting erratically, and I think we need to lean into that.”

• Zucker: “Frankly, if we've made any mistake, it's been that our banners have been too polite, and we need to go well after Lindsey Graham.”

• Zucker: “There's a ton going on. Let’s stay strong. Let's stay newsy. Let’s stay urgent. Let’s be smart. There is a lot of news out there, and Lindsey Graham really deserves it.”

• David Vigilante, CNN General Counsel: “Yeah, I was just going to say, if you're going to talk about the story, I think it's unavoidable that you have to talk about the naked racism of Tucker Carlson. Because that's really what drove this anti-diversity push, you know, Trump watches Tucker Carlson's show and then reacts. And just as sort of the white supremacy hour they have on Fox News every night, I think it's the --- You can't disconnect the two.”

• Stephanie Becker, CNN field producer: “On the issue of why it's important to get the transition going right, the 9-11 report talks about one of the problems was that the trouble that was brewing that lost during the transition. So, if you want a good, concrete example of what happens when you don't have a good transition, well, look at the Twin Towers.”

• James O’Keefe: “This is yet another investigation Project Veritas has conducted into CNN, and once again they’ve demonstrated their partisan political agenda and total disconnect with journalistic ethics.”

[WESTCHESTER, N.Y. – Dec. 1, 2020] Project Veritas released new tapes today of CNN’s 9 a.m. rundown calls that have been recorded for months, which expose CNN president Jeff Zucker and several other CNN executives expressing their political biases against people and groups that oppose the network’s political agenda.

“This is yet another investigation Project Veritas has conducted into CNN, and once again they’ve demonstrated their partisan political agenda and total disconnect with journalistic ethics,” said Project Veritas founder and CEO James O’Keefe.

CNN attacked President Donald J. Trump, Fox News host Tucker Carlson and even U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, he said.

Here are some of the comments made on the CNN calls about President Trump:

CNN President Jeff Zucker: “This is a president who knows he's losing, who knows he's in trouble, is sick, maybe is on the aftereffects of steroids or not. I don't know. But he is acting erratically and desperately, and we need to not normalize that.”

Zucker: “You know, this is what we've come to expect for the last three and a half years, four years, but it clearly is exacerbated by the time that we're in and the issues that he's [Trump] dealing with. I think that we cannot just let it be normalized. He is all over the place and acting erratically, and I think we need to lean into that.”

Stephanie Becker, CNN field producer: “On the issue of why it's important to get the transition going right, the 9-11 report talks about one of the problems was that the trouble that was brewing that lost during the transition. So, if you want a good, concrete example of what happens when you don't have a good transition, well, look at the Twin Towers.”

CNN President Jeff Zucker also told his employees to go after Lindsey Graham during
one of the 9 a.m. calls.

“Frankly, if we've made any mistake, it's been that our banners have been too polite, and we need to go well after Lindsey Graham,” he said.

“There's a ton going on. Let’s stay strong. Let's stay newsy. Let’s stay urgent. Let’s be smart. There is a lot of news out there, and Lindsey Graham really deserves it,” he said.

David Vigilante, CNN's General Counsel said Tucker Carlson is a racist
and that Fox News enables Carlson to host a white supremacy hour every night on their channel.

“Yeah, I was just going to say, if you're going to talk about the story, I think it's unavoidable that you have to talk about the naked racism of Tucker Carlson. Because that's really what drove this anti-diversity push, you know, Trump watches Tucker Carlson's show and then reacts. And just as sort of the white supremacy hour they have on Fox News every night, I think it's the --- You can't disconnect the two,” he said.

O’Keefe said these tapes show CNN executives plotting the day’s news.

“These statements made by high-up executives at CNN prove that they are simply not interested in being unbiased when reporting on the news,” O’Keefe said.

“CNN likes to call themselves ‘the most trusted name in news,’ but how can the public ever trust a network that routinely bashes people simply because those people hold certain political views that are not aligned with the mainstream media?” he asked.

“Calling Tucker Carlson a racist and demanding CNN employees to attack Lindsey Graham is outrageous and unprofessional behavior,” he said.

“Project Veritas continues its investigations into mainstream media organizations and their role in influencing elections, especially as America’s future is becoming more uncertain and the public’s trust in media continues to decline.”

CORRECTION: The third video in this article identifies the source of the audio in the call as Marcus Mabry. CNN's PR team has informed us that it was in fact their General Counsel David Vigilante. This article text has been updated to reflect that.

About Project Veritas

James O'Keefe established Project Veritas in 2011 as a non-profit journalism enterprise to continue his undercover reporting work. Today, Project Veritas investigates and exposes corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions to achieve a more ethical and transparent society. O'Keefe serves as the CEO and Chairman of the Board so that he can continue to lead and teach his fellow journalists, as well as protect and nurture the Project Veritas culture.

Project Veritas is a registered 501(c)3 organization. Project Veritas does not advocate specific resolutions to the issues raised through its investigations.