Trump celebrates Zucker exit from CNN

Former President Trump mocked longtime media executive Jeff Zucker following his resignation as the head of CNN on Wednesday. 

Zucker resigned after failing to disclose his romantic relationship with a senior executive at CNN, which came to light as part of an investigation into the conduct of former anchor Chris Cuomo. 

“I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years,” Zucker said in a memo to employees. “I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong.”

In a statement issued soon after the news of Zucker’s resignation broke, Trump weighed in, saying CNN’s top boss was out because the network “has lost its way with viewers and everybody else.” 

“Now is a chance to put Fake News in the backseat because there may not be anything more important than straightening out the horrendous LameStream Media in our Country, and in the case of CNN, throughout the World,” Trump said. 

Zucker has been a regular foil for Trump, who was on the receiving end of aggressive coverage from CNN and others regarding his business dealings, public statements and policies during his time in the White House. 

While at NBCUniversal, Zucker put “The Apprentice” on NBC in 2004 and made Trump a household name, The New York Times noted. 

“I have no regrets about the part that I played in his career,” Zucker said of Trump in 2020. 

In 2016, Zucker said he wanted Trump “to do a weekly show” and offered advice for the then-candidate ahead of a GOP presidential primary debate on the network, The Hill previously reported.

“I think the other guys are going to gang up on him tremendously,” Zucker told Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen according to audio of the 2016 phone call. “And I think he’s going to hold his own, as he does every time. He’s never lost a debate. And you know what? He’s good at this. … He’s going to do great.”