Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for former President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, was abruptly taken off the air by CNN anchor Kasie Hunt mid-interview Monday (June 24) morning after referencing colleague Jake Tapper days ahead of the network hosting the first presidential debate between Trump and President Joe Biden.
Hunt played several clips of Trump acknowledging the upcoming debate before asking Leavitt about the campaign's outlook, at which point Leavitt referenced Tapper, who is scheduled to moderate the debate alongside State of the Union co-host Dana Bash, claiming, "it takes five minutes someone five minutes to Google 'Jake Tapper Donald Trump' to see that Jake Tapper has consistently likened President Trump to Adolf Hitler."
Hunt interjected, warning Leavitt not to continue "to attack my colleagues" and noted that she asked "about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who you work for."
"If you're here to speak on his behalf we will have this conversation," Hunt added.
"I am stating facts that your colleagues have stated in the past," Leavitt responded before being cut off the air.
“I’m sorry guys … Karoline thank you very much for your time. You’re welcome to come back at anytime,” Hunt said after Leavitt was taken off the air. “She is welcome to come back and speak about Donald Trump. Donald Trump will have equal time to Joe Biden when they both join us … later this week in Atlanta for this debate.”
Hunt later shared a post on her X account referencing the situation.
"You come on my show, you respect my colleagues. Period. I don’t care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows," Hunt wrote.
President Biden and former President Trump will appear in a 90-minute debate hosted by CNN on Thursday (June 27).