CNN’s ratings are so deep in the toilet that they now agree with Donald Trump on his desire for televised trials in his federal court cases. Although it is improbable that this would happen, since it is a general rule to not allow cameras into federal courtrooms, they are so desperate for the huge numbers of viewers such televised trials would generate — O.J. Simpson trial numbers!? — that they are able to put their loathing aside to agree with Trump on this issue.
An example of this thirst for viewers came on Monday when CNN’s legal analyst Elie Honig appeared on The Source with Kaitlin Collins and dared to say Trump made a “smart move” to back cameras in the courtroom in this case, so he could paint the Biden Justice Department as the camera-phobes depriving the public of information.
Maybe Trump saw the courtroom antics of the civil trial in New York and said “man, the video could only help me.”
KAITLAN COLLINS: But there is an argument going on, right now, in the federal case, in Washington, with the Special Counsel, Jack Smith that about cameras, being inside the courtroom. And the Trump campaign arguing for it. They’re arguing against it.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes.
COLLINS: It doesn’t seem likely. But what do you make?
ELIE HONIG: No, there’s almost no chance that we will see cameras inside the courtroom.
I’ll make a confession. If you had asked me this, few years ago, when I was a prosecutor, I would have said, “Absolutely not. I don’t want it. I don’t want to encourage grandstanding.”
Now, I feel 180 degrees different, partially because we’re here now, working in media, but also because the Constitution ensures the right to a speedy, and public trial. And the fact that we’re not using technology, to take advantage of that, I think, is a real miss.
I will say this. Trump is — it’s a smart move, tactically.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes.
HONIG: Because now Trump gets to say, “I wanted you, American people, to see this. And you know who didn’t want you to see it? The Justice Department.” It’s a smart move for him.
A day earlier another CNN legal analyst, Norm Eisen, expressed the wish for a televised federal trial of Trump. Eisen claimed it would be devastating for Trump to be seen in such a televised trial but does anybody really think Special Counsel Jack Smith would be opposing televised trials so vociferously if he thought that was the case?
Trump wants his DC trial televised—& for once I agree!
But there’s no way that’s gonna happen
I explained why @CNN w @Acosta pic.twitter.com/sPNdTFZl1E
— Norm Eisen (norm.eisen on Threads) (@NormEisen) November 13, 2023
In the case of televised Trump trials, it seems that for CNN its desperate desire for better ratings Trumps (pun intended) its usual Trump Derangement Syndrome.