Zachary LeemanMar 14th, 2024, 1:21 pm
Screenshot via JohnAvlon.com
Former CNN analyst John Avlon called out some newsrooms and their coverage of Donald Trump as he is readying his run for a New York congressional seat.
Avlon recently stepped away from his duties at CNN to run for Congress. He’ll be challenging Republican incumbent Nick LaLota. In an interview with Lachlan Cartwright for The Hollywood Reporter, Avlon made it clear that Trump and the state of politics was a big reason for jumping from CNN into the political fray.
The longtime analyst and former Daily Beast managing editor also offered criticism for newsrooms still debating how they should be covering Trump.
“The fact some newsrooms are still debating whether you cover Trump like every other candidate shows zero percent learning curve,” Avlon said. “I think the stakes of this race couldn’t be clearer.”
He added, “The stakes are much higher than a typical election and we shouldn’t get lulled into thinking of it that way and I think too often the media does engage a little bit of ‘on one hand, and on the other’ which isn’t remotely sufficient to the stakes of this race.”
The former Rudy Giualiani speechwriter steered clear of criticizing CNN, offering a light and positive assessment.
“I don’t want to get too deep into my analysis of CNN,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that I can go down that rabbit hole another time but I’ve got nothing but the deepest respect for the work done by my former colleagues at CNN and I think [CEO] Mark [Thompson’s] record and his vision hopefully primes it for continued future success and growth.”
Overall, Avlon argued the media too often plays into “outrage Olympics,” which he declared won’t be sufficient for the current stakes.
Avlon’s strategy for winning a Trump-supporting incumbent? By “playing offense.”
“I think Democrats are on defense too often. I think Democrats need to play offense on the issues people care about and offer a confident, optimistic, common sense problem solving vision,” Avlon said. “Nick LaLota is vulnerable and can lose against the right kind of candidate. The fact that he and the NRCC came after me the day I got in the race shows that they are scared. Nick LaLota doesn’t even live in the district by the way. Between Nick LaLota and me I’m the only one who can vote in this election. His district, his home, is represented by a different congressman altogether. So bring it.”
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