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The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Jeff Zucker Talks to David Remnick About Putting Trump on TV

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The New Yorker

Politics, Washington, News, Obama, Wnyc, President, Lizza, Barack, Wickenden

4.33.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2017

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

While running NBC, Jeff Zucker recognized Donald Trump’s potential as a performer, and green-lit “The Apprentice.” That show brought the real-estate developer into American homes and enabled his push into politics. When Zucker took over an ailing CNN, Trump returned the favor, so to speak: his campaign and then Presidency brought the network its highest prime-time ratings in decades. But, as David Remnick notes in a conversation with Zucker, Trump seems to have it in for CNN, placing it atop his axis of “fake news” enemies.

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Transcript

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I'm Dorothy Wickenden. On today's Politics and More podcast, David Remnick talks to Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN worldwide. President Trump routinely decries CNN as

1:23.3

fake news, but its ratings are their highest in decades.

1:33.1

So we'll begin with Jeff Zucker, who's the president of CNN.

1:38.6

When Zucker came to the network in 2013, it was totally adrift with primetime viewing at its lowest in two decades. The savior of the network was Donald Trump.

1:45.8

Despite purveying nothing but fake news in the assessment of our now president,

1:51.4

CNN this spring had its best rating in 14 years.

1:55.7

And the strange irony in all of this is that CNN's Jeff Zucker helped to make Donald Trump. Sooker was formerly

2:02.6

at NBC for 25 years, eventually becoming its CEO. And while he was there, he was the one who greenlit

2:10.1

the apprentice. Jeff, you've known Donald Trump for about 15 years. And certainly as a TV presence, you had a large hand in making him.

2:20.9

What did you have in mind?

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