SILVER LINING?

CNBC Host Says He Will Be ‘Excoriated’ for Trump Win Remark

Aaron Ross Sorkin said he would likely be “excoriated” for saying a second Trump presidency would be good “from a pure media, eyeballs readership way.”

CNBC anchor Ross Aaron Sorkin suggested it would be a ratings windfall for the media business if former President Donald Trump clinched victory in November.

Appearing on Mediaite’s Press Club podcast, Sorkin—who is also a columnist for The New York Times—was asked what a victory for Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris would mean for the media industry.

“I would bet from a pure media, eyeballs readership way… I think people are fascinated by former President Trump. And so, if you’re asking me strictly on that basis, what it portends for the next four years of the media business…”

Mediaite Editor in Chief Aidan McLaughlin added, “It’s a boon.”

“It might be,” Sorkin said. He prefaced his answer by saying he was going to get “excoriated” for it.

“I think we should take that equation out of how anybody is supposed to think about this stuff, though,” Sorkin added.

Trump has famously called the news media “the enemy of the people,” and on the campaign trail he has said that journalists who publish leaked information should be jailed. Most recently he demanded that CBS be shut down over its 60 Minutes interview with Harris.

“Am I fired now?” Sorkin joked after suggesting Trump could be good for the media.

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Janna Brancolini

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