CNN’s Kaitlan Collins could be taking on the coveted primetime slot vacated by Chris Cuomo, according to a new report – the latest in a series of changes enacted by CEO Chris Licht to make the network less partisan.
The maneuver would see the 31-year-old former White House correspondent leave her plum gig co-hosting the network’s now Don Lemon-less ‘This Morning’ hour, for the hallowed 9pm show.
The prime spot has been long left vacant, following Cuomo’s high-profile nixing in December 2021. Ratings have since languished, despite a series of splashy interviews and a revolving door of talent and hosts.
The mastermind behind these various changes reportedly has been Licht, who was brought on three month’s after Cuomo’s ouster and immediately faced with the task of righting – and reinventing – the flailing news operation.
Most recently, the network terminated one of its most outspoken and polarizing hosts, Lemon, removing him from his long-held 10pm to 12am slot ‘reimagined’ morning show. That left behind co-anchors Poppy Harlow and Collins – now the talk of the town following her town hall with Donald Trump aired by the new station.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins could be taking on the coveted primetime slot vacated by Chris Cuomo, according to a new report – the latest in a series of changes to make the network less partisan
The prime spot has been long left vacant, following Cuomo’s high-profile nixing in December 2021. Ratings have since languished, despite a series of splashy interviews and a revolving door of talent and hosts
CNN did not immediately respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment regarding the prospective move, which was first reported Wednesday by Puck News.
Simultaneously, Collins – who has surfaced as CNN’s ‘it girl’ since joining as their White House correspondent in 2017 – prepared to question Trump for the first time since he was found liable for sex abuse in a New York civil trial brought by E. Jean Carroll.
Many expressed shock over the event, questioning why a historically progressive network would entertain the politician, after criticizing him for much of his presidency – and at such a sensitive time.
The event comes as Licht, who has repeatedly vowed to move away from the opinionated reporting seen during Trump’s term, has started to tap Collins as the network’s next savior, and the one to succeed Cuomo after so many months, the outlet reported.
The online publication, speaking to insiders familiar with the matter, wrote that the promotion could be announced as early as next week – and would be considerably more lucrative than Collins’ current post at the television network.
Once a White House correspondent for the conservative publication The Daily Caller, the 31-year-old current co-host of This Morning stands out from some of her contemporaries at CNN, due to her more centrist approach to news.
This was on full display Wednesday in New Hampshire Wednesday as she grilled Trump on subjects such as the prospective fraud in the 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection, all while refraining from taking a stance herself – as some of her predecessors might have.
‘I think that when you look at that result and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what a lot of the people in this audience and probably maybe a couple that don’t, but most people understand what happened. That was a rigged election,’ Trump said.
Collins, meanwhile, hung tough despite the president repeating that claim several times during the event.
Collins has surfaced as CNN’s ‘it girl’ since joining as their White House correspondent in 2017 and provided an aggressive line of questioning Wednesday in New Hampsire for a network town hall featuring former President Trump
The time slot has been vacant ever since the December 2021 ousting of Chris Cuomo, who headed the hour with great success for three years before being forced to resign for helping his brother Andrew Cuomo navigate a damning sex scandal
The event comes as New CNN boss Chris Licht who has repeatedly vowed to move away from the opinionated reporting seen during Trump’s term, has started to tap Collins as the network’s next savior, and the one to succeed Cuomo after so many months
‘The election was not rigged, Mr. President. You cannot keep saying that all night long,’ Collins told him.
Continuing her full-court press, Collins added: ‘It’s been nearly 2 1/2 years. Can you saw that you did lose the 2020 election?’
Trump, however, stayed characteristically stubborn, saying there was evidence of ballot stuffing and people voting mulitple times. There has never been proof given of this and multiple recounts and lawsuits confirmed Biden’s victory.
A voter in the audience asked Trump if he would drop the election fraud claims.
‘Yes, unless I see election fraud,’ he said.
‘Let’s just win it again and straighten out our country,’ he added as the audience applauded.
The 52-year-old Cuomo, who manned the hour for three years, has since began a new job anchoring for the non-partisan network NewsNation, but his primetime slot remains in limbo, manned by a series of rotating hosts – as showrunners struggle to find the solution to its dwindling viewership.
At its height, the show managed just 854,000 viewers – a distant third behind Fox News’ ‘Hannity,’ with 2.6 million viewers, and MSNBC’s ‘Alex Wagner Tonight,’ with 1.6 million viewers.
The hours audience has dipped even further since the network’s latest ratings release – seemingly throwing a monkey wrench into Licht’s reported plans for a more no-nonsense political commentator, to become the ‘new face’ of the network.