CBS News top executive has said in a leaked tape that the network is hiring Republicans as the GOP is going to gain power in the country. CBS News Co-President Neeraj Khemlani was said to have told staff members that the company needs to bring in more Republican voices as he expects the GOP to make sweeping victories in the coming 2020 midterm elections.
The company is facing internal backlash for hiring former US President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mick Mulvaney as a paid on-air contributor.
"If you look at some of the people that we've been hiring on a contributor basis, being able to make sure that we are getting access to both sides of the aisle is a priority because we know the Republicans are going to take over, most likely, in the midterms," said Khemlani in a leaked recording obtained by The Washington Post.
Khemlani maintained that a lot of the people that the network is bringing in are helping the company in terms of access to that side of the equation.
CBS has confirmed the new hiring. "CBS News is continuing to build up its roster of contributors on both sides of the aisle ahead of the midterms and the 2024 election," the company stated.
Some of the CBS employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed that they are frustrated and really embarrassed over Mick Mulvaney coming on staff.
A CBS employee told The Washington Post, 'I know everyone I talked to today was embarrassed about the hiring,' while another one said: 'Everyone is baffled.'
How CBS is Defending New Hiring?
A senior producer at the company has defended Mulvaney's hiring as the employee stressed the 74.2 million Americans who voted for Trump in 2020. The producer suggested that CBS News could not risk losing potential viewers.
On Tuesday morning, Mulvaney made his first official appearance as a contributor and he was introduced as 'a former Office of Management and Budget director, with anchor Anne-Marie Green failing to mention which administration Mulvaney worked for, according to the Daily Mail.
