Pastor Pence’s office, which is responsible for booking officials on networks for information on the pandemic, is blocking officials like Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci from appearing on CNN. Pence’s office has declined to make the health officials available to CNN for the last seven days. The action is an attempt to pressure the network to carry the Coronavirus Warriors Press Briefings in full.
CNN has been only airing Trump’s question and answer session, which sometimes includes the health officials, live on the air. The press briefings have been cut off after Trump leaves the podium in order to fact check what the president says.
A CNN executive said that the network usually returns to such programming because of the extensive length of the full briefing that includes Pence, which can run in excess of two hours.
“When you guys cover the briefings with the health officials then you can expect them back on your air,” a Pence spokesperson told CNN.
NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox have carried Fauci, Birx, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Surgeon General Jerome Adams during the last week, despite the fact that the broadcast networks have not covered the briefings. But CNN has been blocked from all appearances since last Thursday.
Trump has also declined CNN’s repeated requests for an interview, instead appearing only on Fox News for softball interviews multiple times during the national emergency.