'Where's Steve?': Trump Frets as CNN Benches His Biggest Defender
Amid national uproar over mass shootings, possible economic gloom, and gun control, the president has found time to be distressed over a pro-Trump pundits lack of CNN airtime.
Asawin Suebsaeng
White House Reporter
Maxwell Tani
Media Reporter
Published 08.21.19 5:32AM ET
Over the past month, President Donald Trump has asked several administration officials the same question. Wheres Steve? the president has repeatedly inquired, according to two officials whove heard him do so in the White House.
The Steve in question isnt Steve Mnuchin, Miller, Bannon, or Moore. Its Steve Cortes, a member of the Trump 2020 advisory board and a paid on-air contributor at CNN, a perennial media foe of the presidents.
Late last week, The Hollywood Reporter published a story on how Cortes had been benched by network brass, and hadnt appeared on CNN in the U.S. in more than a month. They just won't book him, a former CNN contributor told THR. Theyll just pay him. They wont fire him, because thats just blatant. But they wont book him, and theyll tell all the producers not to book him.
Within the past few weeks, the leader of the free world came to notice Cortes absence from CNN, a network Trump has on-and-off insisted that he doesnt watch or pay attention to anymore.
More:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-frets-over-benching-of-his-biggest-defender-on-cnn-wheres-steve-cortes?ref=home
Steve Cortes speaks while Anna Navarro, while fascinated,
grooms her nails.