Saying flattering things about Jared Kushner doesn’t make for good TV.
At least according to New York Observer Editor-in-Chief Ken Kurson, who says he was bumped for a CNN “New Day” segment after he told producer that President Trump‘s senior advisor and son-in-law is the right man for the job.
Kurson wrote a first-person essay on Wednesday explaining what happened.
CNN’s Steve Forrest, a producer for “New Day,” wrote and asked if he’d be available for a 8 a.m. appearance on “New Day” to discuss Kushner’s qualifications for his White House job. Minutes later, Kurson accepted.
Forrest told him another producer would be in touch to get his views.
Kurson replied, “My POV is that the country is super lucky to have someone of Jared’s skill, patriotism and discipline doing its bidding.”
Ding.
Wrong answer.
A few hours later, Kurson wrote, Forrest pinged him back and told him the segment had been killed.
He didn’t think much of it until he watched the next morning and saw the hosts doing a segment on Kushner. It’s no secret that CNN has achieved success by sticking it to Trump. The feeling is mutual — Trump can’t stand CNN and thinks CNN President Jeff Zucker is the “most disloyal” person. Both guests who served as experts on Kushner had negative comments. They included HuffPost‘s Timothy O’Brien and Vanity Fair‘s Emily Jane Fox.
The Mirror sought comment from Forrest on the matter.
Kurson fully admits that he’s been a “close friend” to Kushner for the past 15 years and an employee for the past four — Kushner formerly owned the New York Observer. Kushner stepped down as publisher in January of 2017.
“I get that bookers aren’t necessarily calling me for my good looks or penetrating insights,” Kurson wrote. “They want a window into Jared Kushner, who has joined the president’s inner circle. After saying no to virtually all television asks during the campaign season—I didn’t think it’d be appropriate to comment on someone who was signing my paycheck—I have been more willing to appear now that Jared has divested himself from this publication.”
Kurson asked Forrest if he was dumped because he’s a Kushner fan.
Forrest flatly denied it.
But the next morning Kurson watched as the show invited Elizabeth Spiers on the program to discuss Kushner. Spiers, formerly editor-in-chief of the New York Observer, had terrible things to say about him. In a recent essay for The Washington Post, Spiers wrote that when she worked for him, she found a superior who was cheap and vain. She also thinks he’s the wrong man to head up an Office of American Innovation.
Which, Kurson charged, made her “a more suitable guest.”
Despite being told by CNN “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter that Washington Bureau Chief Sam Feist wants him on CNN more, it’ll be surprising if the network has Kurson on anytime soon.