MIAMI – CNN is defending its decision not to air a television advertisement touting President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office after the Trump campaign denounced the cable network in an email to supporters.
The email, obtained Tuesday by Local 10 News, claims the campaign "was stopped by the mainstream media from running a new television ad on CNN."
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"CNN requested that the advertiser remove the false graphic that the mainstream media is 'fake news,'" the cable channel said in a statement. "The mainstream media is not fake news, and therefore the ad is false and per policy will be accepted only if that graphic is deleted."
The "fake news" graphic appears over a split-screen showing NBC's Andrea Mitchell, CNN's Wolf Blitzer, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, ABC's George Stephanopoulos and CBS's Scott Pelley.
"It is absolutely shameful to see the media blocking the positive message that President Trump is trying to share with the country," Trump campaign executive director Michael Glassner said in a statement. "It's clear that CNN is trying to silence our voice and censor our free speech because it doesn't fit their narrative."
The email goes on to say that CNN takes issue with the ad's message of "calling out the mainstream media for peddling fake news and not reporting on the fact that President Trump is making America great again."