CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker shot down rumors that he will throw his hat in the ring for Mayor of New York City.
“I am not considering running for the mayor of New York,” Zucker told TheWrap this week during a luncheon for media members with Turner’s top executives.
The rumors started last December during a town hall-style conversation between Zucker and BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith at the Paley Center for Media. Smith mentioned a 2014 New York Magazine report that Zucker would consider running for office himself.
“I would still think about that, yeah,” Zucker said last December before Smith chimed in with, “mayor of New York?”
Zucker fired back, “I would consider anything.”
When asked about the exchange this week, Zucker set the record straight.
“Here is what happened,” Zucker said. “I’m doing an interview with Ben Smith on the stage. At the end, Ben says to me ‘I read somewhere in the past that you’d consider running for office,’ and I said, ‘That is true. That is something I’ve thought about.’”
Zucker went on to explain that Smith asked “What office?” — before suggesting mayor of New York.
“Ten seconds later it was tweeted by BuzzFeed that I would not rule out running for Mayor of New York,” Zucker said “Now, that’s not exactly how it went down.”