Former CNN boss sheds light on his dismissal from the liberal network: 'There were people who didn't want change'

Former CNN host Chris Licht has spoken candidly about what led to his ouster from the network in 2023, suggesting he faced resistance to a “change” in staff.

In an interview Saturday at the New York Press Club's Journalism Conference, Licht said it was his “job” when he was hired to restore America's “trust” in CNN and described his firing as just “business.” He said he is still friends with the man who fired him, who is the CEO of Warner Brother Discovery's parent company, David Zaslav.

Licht was then asked by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith if he could “point to” what exactly led to his firing, citing examples such as the CNN Trump town hall and the now-infamous Atlantic profile that painted him in a negative light, both of which caused backlash. among workers.

“When you're trying to dramatically change something, you can't do it alone. You have to build the trust of the organization. They have to believe in you. And I didn't build that trust,” Licht said. “I couldn't, while I was there, build the trust so that people would make noise and follow me in that.”

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“Because of time? Or because of something else?” Smith asked.

“Time is your element,” Licht replied. “We have to remember where things were at that time. It was crazy – I think everyone would say frankly that it was a crazy time, especially in that organization, but I'm not letting myself get away with it.”

“I think if you're trying to have a way forward, you have to be confident and show confidence for people to follow you, but there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance and I'm still working on driving that again. I think I was on the wrong side of that at times.”

“The Atlantic article I shouldn't have done,” he continued. “You talk about arrogance, think you say yes in the back, by the way, you say no several times, but in the end, you say yes because you know that if this comes out in a year, I will have saved everything. This is gonna be an The title will be very good because in a year, I have done that arrogance now as I look back now, I didn't fail before. A year later, they are going to write 'wow, look at all these great things that have happened.' So, no, I shouldn't have taken the reporter to the gym.

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Licht said there are CNN employees who “don't want change” as he tries to take the struggling network elsewhere. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Licht defended Trump's town hall as he did when he blasted CNN, saying, “I still believe today that it was the right thing to do.” And while he reiterated his regret for not revealing to viewers that the New Hampshire town hall was full of Trump supporters and center-right voters, he pointed to their positive reaction to then-candidate Donald Trump as significant in its own right.

“Remember, we haven't seen Trump in a long time. It was the first time he answered some really tough questions in a long time. And the fact that his shtick resonated with voters in New Hampshire, that's part of the story, but people at home should have been told that and it's one thing I could have done differently,” Licht said.

He continued, “So why did it happen? I think that's all… There were people who didn't want change, and the way I reacted to those people, you know, I chose a fight that I shouldn't have chosen. There are things I should have built up, or people I should have trusted more. But, you know , there is no leader in any organization without self-interest.”

A CNN spokeswoman declined to comment.

Licht was handpicked by Zaslav in 2022 to help revive CNN's viewership and restore journalistic credibility after the network spent years establishing itself as an anti-Trump news organization under Licht's predecessor, Jeff Zucker.

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Licht held a CNN town hall with then-candidate Donald Trump, sparking backlash from liberal viewers and network employees alike. (Screenshot/CNN)

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CNN's rank and file resisted Licht's efforts to remove the show from its coverage. Among his biggest moves was firing prominent liberals from the air, including Brian Stelter, Don Lemon and Jeffrey Toobin.

However, Licht had completely lost the trust of CNN staff after the network hosted a Trump town hall in May 2023, sparking unprecedented anger within the news community. Licht was fired by Zaslav weeks later.

Flash forward to November 2024 as financial problems and bad ratings continue to plague the network. Many of Licht's decisions were overturned – Stelter was rehired as a media commentator, Toobin and Lemon have appeared frequently as guests — and CNN's anti-Trump stories returned with a bang on Election Day.

CNN's current honcho Mark Thompson is now tasked with stopping the bleeding of its dwindling audience and base. CNN employees told Fox News Digital that they are “very frustrated” as major budget cuts and layoffs could affect the network in the coming months.