The Only CNN Anchor Trump Likes Is Michael Smerconish
![Michael Smerconish split photo with Donald Trump](https://cdn10.phillymag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/02/smerconish-trump-940x540.jpg)
Trump photo by Gage Skidmore (license)
Donald Trump doesn’t like CNN. He frequently calls the network “fake news” and is obviously bothered by any reports the station does about the bumbling first month of his presidency.
But, in Wednesday’s Politico media column, it notes there is one local host he likes: Philly’s own Michael Smerconish!
As Newsmax CEO and longtime Trump pal Chris Ruddy dished to Politico’s Hadas Gold, Trump recently told Ruddy “he thought [Michael] Smerconish was pretty fair” after appearing on the host’s eponymous Saturday show.
Yikes. Is it a scarlet letter for a journalist to be branded “pretty fair” by the groper-in-chief? Smerconish seems to think so: Reached for comment from Politico, he sent them an April 2014 screenshot of a Trump tweet about Smerconish.
I can't believe that @CNN would waste time and money with @smerconish – he has got nothing going. Jeff Zucker must be losing his touch!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 5, 2014
Smerconish even fired back!
@realDonaldTrump Too funny that you are watching me on a Friday night – no faux campaign events this evening? (look up the word, "mr trump")
— Michael Smerconish (@smerconish) April 5, 2014
Whatever happened, in the meantime Trump has apparently changed his mind. Smerconish can now put “Trump thinks I’m ‘pretty fair’” on his résumé.