Network Anchors, Execs Summoned to Trump Tower

Sources say Trump slammed election coverage during meeting
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 22, 2016 2:22 AM CST
Updated Nov 22, 2016 5:41 AM CST
Trump Invites News Anchors to Meeting, Slams Coverage
President-elect Donald Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, speaks to media in the lobby of Trump Tower on Monday in New York.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Donald Trump met with some of America's top news anchors and execs at Trump Tower on Monday—and it wasn't to thank them for doing a tremendous job. The meeting was officially off the record, but sources tell Politico and the Wall Street Journal that Trump slammed the networks for their election coverage, especially predictions that he would lose, singling out CNN and ABC as "the worst." The sources say he also complained to NBC News President Deborah Turness that the network had used an unflattering photo of him. But Trump also answered questions about media access and told his guests that he wanted a "cordial" and "productive" relationship with the press, the sources say.

Reince Priebus, Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, and Jared Kushner were also at the meeting, sources say. The network anchors seen entering Trump Tower included NBC's Lester Holt, CBS's Charlie Rose, and CNN's Wolf Blitzer, while execs included CNN chief Jeff Zucker and Fox News co-presidents Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine. One participant tells CNNMoney that although Trump complained about coverage, there was "real progress" made at the meeting. The participant says a New York Post account of the meeting being "like a f---ing firing squad" is "overstated." Trump—who tweeted a complaint about the "crooked media" after Monday's meeting—plans to meet with the New York Times on Tuesday. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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