Jeff Zucker defended CNN’s coverage, though he admitted they perhaps aired too many of Donald Trump’s early rallies “unedited.” | Getty Campaign operatives blast Jeff Zucker over CNN coverage at Harvard event

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — CNN President Jeff Zucker was jeered and heckled by Republican presidential campaign operatives at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics' campaign managers conference on Wednesday evening as he tried to defend CNN's coverage of Donald Trump, as a usually formal event turned tense and, at times, raucous.

The event, a toney dinner of 200 or so campaign operatives, journalists and academics at the Charles Hotel, featured Zucker in conversation with Washington Post editor Marty Baron, AP editor Kathleen Carroll and Elliot Schrage, vice president of communications and public policy at Facebook, moderated by journalist Sasha Issenberg.


After a calm beginning, it didn't take long for the evening to erupt when the conversation turned to CNN's coverage.

GOP campaign managers who worked for President-elect Donald Trump's primary opponents shouted Zucker down with increasing anger as he defended how much airtime the network gave Trump, and claimed it allowed other candidates to dial in to shows by phone.

Zucker defended CNN’s coverage, though he admitted it perhaps aired too many of Trump’s early rallies “unedited” -- an admission he has made before.

But the room grew more and more animated as Zucker went on to say that many campaign managers thought it was “unfair” how much coverage and attention Trump was getting.

"I have to respectfully push back on the campaign managers who spoke here today, because frankly, respectfully, I think that’s bullshit. Donald Trump was on CNN a lot,” Zucker said, refusing to back down. “That’s because we asked him to do interviews and he agreed to do them. We continuously asked the other candidates to come on and do interviews."

Zucker, who described an interview Sen. Marco Rubio did on CNN, where he later objected to a question about abortion and religion and subsequently refused to appear on air for 10 weeks, said they invited all candidates to come on and talk, even by phone.

The room grew increasingly restless and the strategists started piping up, interrupting Zucker and Issenberg.

“I don’t remember getting invited to call in, though,” Sarah Isgur Flores, Carly Fiorina’s deputy campaign manager said, kicking off a parade of comments.

More irritated voices across the room quickly chimed in: “We didn’t get that call.” “We’d be invited for eight seconds.” “At 2 o’clock in the afternoon we’d be invited on,” another said sarcastically.

“All of the Republican candidates were invited to come on,” Zucker said. “Cable news in general, CNN in particular, should not be held responsible for the fact that Donald Trump said yes to those interviews.”

The Trump strategists peppered throughout the room didn't stand up to defend Zucker or challenge the other strategists, with the exception of former Trump campaign manager and CNN contributor Corey Lewandowski, who stalked out of the room early and returned only after a spell outside.

"It’s not the interviews,” Rubio senior advisor Todd Harris said as another audience member shouted, "You showed empty podiums!"

"You showed hours upon hours of unfiltered unscripted coverage of Trump, this was not about interviews,” he added.

Some members of the audience applauded, and the tension in the room built up as salads were left untouched and more wine was poured.

The table featuring top members of Hillary Clinton's campaign, meanwhile, remained stone-faced and quiet near the back of the room.

“Again, Donald Trump was asked to come on and he agreed to come on and answered questions. The other candidates were asked to come on,” Zucker responded.

“That’s not true, you can’t keep saying that,” senior Mike Huckabee adviser Chip Saltsman yelled back.

"I understand emotions continue to run high, but that’s the reality. That’s not cable news’ fault, and that’s not CNN’s fault,” Zucker contended. "If they had wanted to call into the morning show, they were invited call in and they declined. I think that some of them should look in the mirror and decide whether or not they made a mistake by not taking us up."

“Go ahead and name them … that’s not true,” Saltsman continued.

Before long Issenberg tried shifting the conversation to the topic of "fake news," but Ted Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe interrupted, "You just covered that!"

Zucker was also blasted by journalists when he tried to defend CNN's decision to hire Lewandowski while he was still receiving severance from the campaign.

Lewandowski seized the microphone from the questioner, who broached the topic, in a bid to defend himself, allowing the student to finish asking it, but insisting he was adding value to the CNN airwaves.

Zucker said Lewandowski was a “good investment and decision,” as Lewandowski clapped and the rest of the room remained silent.

"If we could do that over again I would have asked that would have been paid [his severance] in full on the day we hired him,” Zucker said.

The pointed questions and attacks on Zucker, however, didn't just come from the operatives.

Washington Post correspondent Karen Tumulty asked Zucker about the "degree to which nutjob surrogates got on TV,” such as Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson, and whether the network ever considered no longer inviting them on after they made so many incorrect assertions and lies.

“At what point do you say: ‘You can’t come on our air anymore’?” Tumulty asked.

"If that is who the Trump campaign sought to put forward as the person who represents them, and they were called out time and time again by our anchors, continuously, I think it is important to have the campaign represented,” Zucker said. "I go back to what a lot of people didn’t want to hear earlier, was that I think a missed opportunity by many of the campaigns in this room was that they did not their candidates out with regard to the specific person you’re talking about. She [Pierson] was called, as were other surrogates from the Trump campaign all the time."

“At the end of the day it is up to the viewer, the electorate to decide whether that represents their candidate well,” Zucker added. “So that’s the way we looked at it.”

