Before anyone could take a breath, Donald Trump fired his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, and CNN subsequently hired him as a contributor for the remainder of the election cycle. Since the news of his next job broke, there has been discussion and debate about whether his hiring has resulted in mass upheaval among other staffers at the network.
The answer, from CNN insiders, is not really.
“Yes and no,” a CNN insider told The Mirror. “It’s no revolt. But there were people who didn’t understand it. I think it was a bigger deal outside of CNN. I think it comes down to this. Trump is the nominee. And we lack trump voices. That’s why Jeff Lord’s crazy is on all the time.”
But that didn’t stop New York Post‘s Page Six from reporting that staff is “revolting” over the hiring. An insider (there are apparently a lot of them in this business) that they spoke to who said, “Female reporters and producers especially . . . They are organizing and considering publicly demanding” that Lewandowski leaves the network.
The Mirror‘s insider says no employee is so far refusing to be on air with Lewandowski.
And why would they? This is business. Alicia Shepherd at USA Today posits that the Lewandowski hiring was a brilliant move for CNN.
“I’m betting there was a bidding war with network agents trying to nail down Lewandoski because he brings a perspective few, if any others, can on Trump,” she wrote. “Yes, he signed a non-disclosure agreement where he’s promised to not disparage the campaign.”
Even with an NDA, Lewandowksi can contribute valuable insight that no other pundit can.
WaPo also agrees with Shepherd, noting that CNN is known for “diversity of opinion” and that the network is no stranger to employing former political aides.
Ever the contrarian, HuffPo complains that hiring Lewandowski shows that CNN has “little regard for the treatment of the press,” noting incidents in which he allegedly grabbed reporter Michelle Fields and, on a separate occasion, told a CNN reporter to get back into the “press pen” at a Trump rally.
Clearly, Lewandowski’s hiring has ruffled a few feathers across the board and not just at CNN. Gawker sums up the issue succinctly, pointing out that the network employs thousands of people worldwide and across the country — of course, some of them will be thrilled and some will be upset.
We think that the Page Six report might just be inflating an issue that a few people have, instead of reflecting a large-scale mutiny about to blow.
Sure, Lewandowsk may be a dick — but he’s CNN’s dick and at this point in the campaign, that works in their favor.