Former contributors accuse CNN of shutting down conservative voices, especially those expressing sympathy for the US president, a frequent target of the network's criticism.
"Most of us got squeezed out involuntarily," Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman and CNN commentator, told Mediaite. "I was there for two years and was certainly willing to continue. It was clear to me in the end that the Republicans they prefer are anti-Trump Republicans."
Stephen Moore, an erstwhile CNN analyst and Donald Trump's pick to serve on the Federal Reserve Board, struck a similar tone.
"Who are the Republicans?" he asked, referring to the remaining conservative line-up on CNN. "John Kasich? He hates Trump!"
CNN announced that Moore would not be returning as a contributor shortly after he was forced to withdraw his name from consideration for the board. His move came amid a serious backlash caused by his disparaging comments about women dating back to the 1990s and the early 2000s, which were unearthed by CNN.
"CNN is the hate Trump network," Moore was quoted as saying. "They just trash Trump every single hour of every single day. All they've talked about for two years is the Muller report and how bad does it make them look now that it proved nothing?"
Bryan Lanza, a one-time deputy communications director for the Trump campaign, stated that "CNN's only identity is being anti-Trump; not conservative vs. liberal."
"If you hate Trump, you tune to CNN to validate your hatred," he told Mediaite. "Not sure it's a winning formula and I'm validated by their last place performance against other outlets."
Meanwhile, conservative talk radio host and former CNN political commentator Buck Sexton said that the network "openly despises" pro-Trump conservatives and pursues the ultimate goal of overthrowing Donald Trump.
"Today the entire enterprise clings to a fundamental dishonesty: that it has no political agenda. Taking down Trump is obviously the agenda. And in this regard, some of CNN's 'hard news' anchors are the biggest journalistic frauds of all."
A spokesperson for CNN said that they are seeking a line-up representing all sides of the political spectrum. They said that a handful liberal contributors have likewise departed to work for the 2020 campaign, while a number of conservative contributors remain on contract.
