CNN publicly disputed White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway's claim that she did not appear on CNN's "State of the Union" due to own choice because of family demands. The dispute surfaced after Conway posted a link on her Twitter account to a Mediaite story saying the New York times had reported that CNN did not want to have Conway on the show because of her "credibility" issues.
"False. I could do no live Sunday shows this week BC of family. Plus, I was invited onto CNN today & tomorrow," Conway said.
False. I could do no live Sunday shows this week BC of family. Plus, I was invited onto CNN today & tomorrow. CNN Brass on those emails https://t.co/LVOUWIytLK
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) February 6, 2017
But the CNN communications Twitter account disputed her claim, saying the White House had offered to have her on the network for their Sunday morning show, but the network declined. "We passed. Those are the facts," they stated.
. @KellyannePolls was offered to SOTU on Sunday by the White House. We passed. Those are the facts.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) February 6, 2017
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski responded to CNN's statement, implying that her network had also declined to have Conway appear on their Sunday shows. "You are not the first," Brzezinski said.
.@CNNPR @KellyannePolls you are not the first.
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) February 6, 2017
The controversy comes after Conway cited a "Bowling Green massacre" as a terrorist attack to defend Trump's immigration executive order. That massacre never happened. Conway expressed that it was an honest mistake and that she meant to say "Bowling Green terrorists" when referring to a 2011 incident in Bowling Green, Kentucky, when two Iraqi refugees were arrested on terrorism related charges.