CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy lashed out at his own network for holding a town hall with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Darcy bashed his network for hosting a candidate who has “spewed dangerous lies and injected poison into the national discourse at every chance,” his newsletter wrote. He accused CNN of helping to spread his “conspiracy campaign” and “dishonesty” on live television.
“Why would any major news network help to validate such a preposterous figure by putting him on stage and allowing him to infect the public with his conspiracy campaign? Some might say that it’s important for Ramaswamy’s rhetoric to be interrogated by the press instead of allowing it to spread unchecked in the darkness,” Darcy wrote. “Sunshine is the best disinfectant, these people might say. That might be, but if that is the aim, there are other ways to expose his dishonesty to the public, such as a taped interview. It’s hard to see how a town hall is the best format to accomplish that goal.”
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy calls out CNN for helping to legitimize Vivek Ramaswamy and his “dangerous lies” with a televised town hall:
“The notion that the infotainer, who CNN has reported ‘struggles for relevance’ as he polls in the low single digits and remains… pic.twitter.com/O8w7L5esZ6
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) December 14, 2023
A CNN spokesperson defended the network’s decision to host Ramaswamy by saying he is a “significant candidate” competing for the nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
“We are a month away from the Iowa caucuses and Mr. Ramaswamy is a significant candidate for the GOP nomination, having made every debate stage thus far,” the spokesperson told Darcy. “The Iowa voters have questions for him before casting their ballots. We will always work to hold every candidate accountable and provide voters with the information necessary to make informed decisions going into an election.”
Darcy accused Ramaswamy of spreading 2020 election fraud lies and criticized him for calling the January 6 Capitol riot “an inside job” and for calling the Great Replacement theory nothing more than “a basic statement of the Democratic Party’s platform.” (RELATED: CNN Chief Chris Licht Defends Trump Town Hall. ‘Angry’ Staffers Reportedly Aren’t Having It)
The CNN media reporter reportedly had been livid at the network in May after it hosted a town hall with former President Donald Trump. Former CNN President Chris Licht told him his coverage of the town hall was “emotional” and had “put the fear in God.”
He argued the town hall with Trump was a disservice to the American public as they were being fed a “spectacle of lies.”
“It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening,” Darcy said in a May 11 tweet.