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CNN: We didn't run Trump ad because of 'fake news' graphic

CNN declined to air an ad by President Donald Trump's campaign because it included a graphic that called the mainstream media "fake news," the network said Tuesday.

Trump's campaign committee had blasted CNN, saying the network refused to run an ad about the first 100 days of the Trump administration.

“It is absolutely shameful to see the media blocking the positive message that President Trump is trying to share with the country. It's clear that CNN is trying to silence our voice and censor our free speech because it doesn't fit their narrative," Michael Glassner, executive director of the campaign committee, Donald J. Trump for President, said in a statement.

The statement also said CNN "takes issue with the ad’s message calling out the mainstream media for peddling fake news and not reporting on the fact that President Trump is making America great again."

In the ad, a narrator says of Trump's efforts: "You wouldn't know it from watching the news." Images of anchors like Wolf Blitzer, Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell play under the banner "FAKE NEWS," a favorite moniker Trump uses to describe media coverage he does not like.

"CNN requested that the advertiser remove the false graphic that the mainstream media is 'fake news.' The mainstream media is not fake news, and therefore the ad is false and per policy will be accepted only if that graphic is deleted," CNN said in a statement.

The president's defenders didn't appear to accept that explanation. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called it a "clearly biased decision."

“Freedom of speech is a hallmark of our nation's founding, and it is concerning that CNN, who I assume to be a strong supporter of the First Amendment, would stifle speech that they disagree with," she said in a statement. "CNN should allow the ad to be aired and apologize for their attempt to block the President's message."

