CNN has hired Sarah Isgur Flores as a political editor to cover the 2020 campaign. CNN staffers and media fans of the network are upset because Isgur Flores has a long history of working for Republicans.
Maxwell Tani reports at The Daily Beast:
CNN Staffers ‘Demoralized’ by Hiring of GOP Operative Sarah Isgur to Edit 2020 CoverageCNN staffers are upset and confused about the network’s decision to hire a partisan political operative to oversee its 2020 campaign reporting.On Tuesday, a CNN spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Beast that the network has hired Republican political advisor Sarah Isgur as the politics editor helming CNN’s 2020 coverage. The move was first reported by Politico.Throughout her decade-long career in Republican politics, Isgur has served as an advisor to Ted Cruz and Mitt Romney, and was Carly Fiorina’s deputy campaign manager for the 2016 Republican primary. Until last year, Isgur was a top spokesperson for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice.A CNN spokesperson said Isgur will not be involved in the network’s DOJ coverage, but will guide TV and digital coverage of the 2020 election, occasionally offering on-screen analysis.
This outrage is ridiculous for many reasons. First and foremost, partisan operatives go to work for media outlets all the time. Van Jones and David Axelrod, who both worked for the Obama administration, are regulars on CNN. In this case however, it’s even more complicated.
Before joining the Trump administration as a spokesperson for Sessions, Isgur Flores was considered never-Trump. During the 2016 election she was often critical of Trump and left-leaning networks like MSNBC loved to have her on as a guest. See the video below:
According to Ballotpedia, after Fiorina dropped out of the race for 2016, Isgur Flores was very critical of Trump:
After Fiorina dropped out of the presidential race, Isgur Flores spoke with MSNBC about the potential for a convention challenge to Donald Trump, saying, “I will certainly hope for a contested convention, and if not I hope that someone will offer an alternative.”[21] According to the Daily Caller, Isgur Flores also said that her disapproval of Trump was based on her belief in conservatism: “For a lot of us, this isn’t about party. This isn’t about winning for the sake of winning for our team. This is about our country. And it’s about a belief system. And I’m a conservative before I’m a Republican.”[22]
Furthermore, are we supposed to pretend that the rest of the CNN political staff is nonpartisan? CNN’s political director is David Chalian. You may remember him as the guy who was fired by Yahoo News during the 2012 campaign for making a nasty and unfair comment about Republicans.
Politico reported:
Yahoo News fires David ChalianYahoo News has fired Washington bureau chief David Chalian after he was caught on a hot-mic during an online video broadcast saying that Republican convention officials had no problem with African Americans suffering as a result of Hurricane Isaac, a source familiar with the situation tells POLITICO…”They’re not concerned at all. They’re happy to have a party with black people drowning,” Chalian said over a break during the ABC News/Yahoo News webcast, in reference to the fact that the GOP convention in Tampa is taking place as Hurricane Isaac makes landfall on the north Gulf coast.
Finally, going back to my first point, there is a revolving door between the worlds of politics and media. It happens on both sides but the left has been far more successful. See the tweets below from David Rutz of the Washington Free Beacon responding to Tommy Vietor who worked for the Obama administration:
Sorry CNN staffers, but your concerns about Isgur Flores ring a bit hollow.
Featured image via YouTube.
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