Ex-CNN Host Chris Cuomo Says Network’s Moderators Didn’t Fact Check Trump Because They Got Bullied

NewsNation host Chris Cuomo suggested on Monday that the moderators of CNN’s first presidential debate didn’t fact-check former President Donald Trump because they were successfully bullied by the Trump campaign.

During an appearance on Cuomo’s show, NewsNation correspondent Geraldo Rivera criticized CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash for not fact-checking Trump’s “outright lying” during Thursday’s debate.

“The exaggeration and the outright lying in the debate, he should have had his chops busted in real time,” protested Rivera. “Why didn’t, you know, the anchors say, ‘Wait a second, President Trump, that’s not a fact. In fact, it’s a lie’?”

Cuomo – who was fired from CNN in December 2021 – replied, “Because he worked the refs, Geraldo, that’s why. Because they spent weeks beating up on CNN’s moderators and it worked, and they wound up doing a no fact-check thing because they didn’t want the drama, because people are susceptible to the criticism.”

He continued, “In this business, you’re one of the few major celebrities in the history of media, where people know you not just by your full name, but by your first name. You’re like Madonna. But for most of us, we don’t like being named. Jake Tapper doesn’t like being held out for being anti-Trump, and I think you saw it reflected in how they conducted themselves on Thursday night.”

CNN received criticism from liberals for failing to fact-check Trump’s remarks live during Thursday’s debate.

“CNN should be embarrassed,” said one Democrat close to the Biden campaign in a statement to Mediaite. “Jake and Dana are good journalists, but they were not journalists last night. They were statues who humiliated their profession and who should be furious at their employer for not allowing them to do their job.”

CNN even received criticism from inside the network, with one CNN journalist telling Mediaite, “We blew it.”

Watch above via NewsNation.