CNN’s Alisyn Camerota took aim at her former employer, Fox News, Wednesday morning in reaction new reports that President Trump told officials he will pardon them if they break laws while trying to finish construction on his signature border wall.
“I can’t wait to hear what Fox says about this morning,” Camerota said of the competing network.
“New Day” co-anchor John Berman went on to read a segment of the Washington Post report aloud: “When aides have suggested that some orders are illegal or unworkable, Trump has suggested he would pardon the officials if they would just go ahead, aides said. He has waved off worries about contracting procedures and the use of eminent domain, saying ‘take the land,’ according to officials who attended the meetings.”
“Roger Ailes, and therefore Fox News, blew a gasket about the idea of seizing private land,” Camerota continued, imitating a typical reaction from her former bosses: ‘This is a democracy. How dare he be an emperor?’
She added, “I don’t remember there ever being a story of the president saying, ‘Even if it is illegal, I would pardon you,’ back then.”
Fox “would have freaked out any time there was a suggestion about President Obama using eminent domain for anything,” Camerota said.
Camerota has been on the inside of both networks’ morning programming, giving her some major insight. “New Day,” for which, full disclosure, this author once worked, secured an average of 456,000 viewers in August, according to Nielsen ratings. 108,000 of those were in the key 25-54 demographic. Fox News competitor averaged 1.5 million viewers, with 284,000 in that demo. “New Day” is down 16% overall –and 36% in that key demo– versus the same time last year.
A rep for Fox News had no comment.