CNN boss Mark Thompson told more than 100 journalists and top on-air talent including Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper that they ought to avoid “pre-judging” President Donald Trump while cautioning them “against expressing any outrage of their own” during the inauguration, according to a report.
Thompson convened a virtual editorial meeting on Sunday that included Tapper, Cooper and scores of other senior news personalities to discuss CNN’s coverage of the inaugural ceremonies that took place the next day in Washington, DC, according to the Status newsletter.
During the meeting, CEO Thompson “made it clear that he did not want the coverage to relitigate the past,” according to Status reporter Oliver Darcy — an allusion to CNN’s historically hostile relationship with Trump.
Thompson asked his charges to avoid editorializing as well as to steer coverage away from focusing on Trump’s legal problems, including convictions for falsifying business documents related to the alleged Stormy Daniel “hush money” payment, according to the report.
Instead, he urged CNN staffers to focus on Trump’s second term and to be “open-minded” about the next four years, according to Status.
A CNN spokesperson declined to comment.
At the end of the call, Thompson reportedly opened the floor to allow staffers to ask questions, but nobody spoke up, the report said.
“What Thompson and other top brass had communicated was clear and none of the meeting participants apparently had the desire to question the guidance,” Darcy wrote.
On Tuesday, Thompson convened yet another virtual editorial call to reiterate his message.
Thompson told CNN staff that they should remain “tough-minded” in coverage while at the same time being “fair-minded,” according to Status.
During the call, Virginia Moseley, CNN’s executive editor, joked that CNN was “out of practice” handling the relentless news cycle generated by Trump, a challenge that will quickly intensify in the coming years.
Thompson’s strategy marks a shift in the network’s coverage of Trump under former CNN boss Jeff Zucker.
CNN has struggled to keep up with MSNBC and Fox News in the ratings race — which was reflected in the numbers for the inauguration.
Fox News, which shares common ownership with The Post, dominated television viewership during Trump’s inauguration, drawing 10.3 million viewers between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET, surpassing all other networks.
ABC, NBC, and CBS followed, with 4.7 million, 4.4 million, and 4.1 million viewers, respectively.
By comparison, CNN’s coverage of Trump’s second inauguration drew 1.135 million total viewers, surpassing MSNBC and peaking at 1.802 million during his Oath of Office and inaugural speech.
The network has touted its digital and streaming platforms such as the CNN.com web site as well as the Max service.
CNN Max saw record engagement on Inauguration Day 2025, ranking among its top 10 days since launching in the fall of 2023.
CNN Digital also experienced a surge, reaching 21 million unique visitors and peaking at 541,000 concurrent streams across its platforms, marking its best performance since election week, according to internal data obtained by The Post.
Overall television viewership for the event declined significantly compared to Trump’s 2017 inauguration, reflecting a broader drop in cable audiences over the years.
Trump’s first inauguration in 2017 drew approximately 30.6 million viewers, while Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration attracted nearly 33.8 million.
In contrast, Trump’s second inauguration in 2025 saw a decline in viewership, with around 24.6 million tuning in, the lowest since Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.
CNN’s corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, has made it clear it wants the network to adopt a more neutral tone in its dealings with Trump.
During Zucker’s tenure, CNN reporters and anchors regularly editorialized while covering the first Trump administration from 2017 until 2021.
Jim Acosta, who was White House senior correspondent, routinely clashed with the Trump White House.
In keeping with the new policies at CNN, Thompson reportedly wants Acosta to broadcast his nightly show beginning at midnight — where viewership is traditionally lower.
