CNN's top executive Jeff Zucker said in a new profile that even with the attacks on his network coming from the White House, he still enjoys President Trump on a personal level.

"I like Donald," Zucker said in a New York Times profile published Tuesday morning. "I guess I shouldn't call him that. I like President Trump. He's affable. He's funny."

Zucker added that he found Trump to be "good company."

Zucker, formerly the head of NBC, joined CNN in 2013 and was widely criticized for turning the network's election programming into a platform that helped Trump's nascent campaign go mainstream.

Zucker is also responsible for introducing Trump as a businessman to a national audience by way of his starring role in NBC's "The Apprentice."

The Times' profile recalls a spring 2016 encounter between the longtime associates that happened in the men's restroom at CNN's Washington bureau.

"You think any of this would have happened without 'The Apprentice'?" Trump asked while powdering his face in preparation for a TV interview, according to Zucker.

"Nope," Zucker replied.