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On Thursday night, NewsNation host Chris Cuomo reflected on the previous night’s massive town hall featuring Dana White, Stephen A. Smith, Bill O’Reilly, Mark Cuban, Robert F. Kenndy Jr., and our friend Tiffany Justice to name a few in front of a packed studio audience. Cuomo expressed his admiration for his team and support from the network, but told viewers the hour of civic dialogue reflected how the country will, if ever, find its way out of our divisive politics.

From a ratings standpoint, Nielsen Media Research found it pulled in its second-highest rating ever for the 8:00 p.m. Eastern hour with 252,000 total viewers, representing a jump of nearly 20 percent and put the network on track as of late Thursday for its second-best week ever in primetime.

Cuomo declared off the top that he’s never “been as proud as I am tonight since we first started here at NewsNation because as you know, I wasn’t sure I was ever coming back to TV” and “[t]he town hall-a-palooza…has been such a confirmation of what I know we can be about and not just because it did well..but…I’m just so happy, I guess, is the right word.”

“We pulled off something — I mean, I know most of you guys, this won’t matter to you. But I got to tell any media, people who are watching this. The team, as small as we have at a startup like NewsNation that had doesn’t — just hasn’t had a lot of reps doing these kinds of productions, no one has ever done anything of this scale,” he explained, adding the sheer number of guests on-hand would normally take weeks at other networks.

Cuomo pivoted to his wider point that, “[i]n a world of constant attack commercials” and both campaigns painting an existential crisis if they don’t win, no one seems to be interested in “constructive dialogue.”

He argued the real necessity of a strong interview and dialogue writ large is having the views of guests “test[ed].”

While he expressed some misgivings with Joe Rogan podcast, he said he “give[s] Rogan credit” for “adding something that’s helpful” in that his shows has shown “[c]onversation is the cure” to our political divide.

He even admitted he’s a different person from the combative personality at CNN:

The reason you love last night, it was actual disagreement. But with decency. You should have seen the buzz during the commercials between all the different people, regardless of party and I know that was happening even on social media — that dumpster fire…Listen, I’m interviewing a president or someone wants to be president. I’ll be conversational, but I got to test them. But not, you know, when it’s people who just are from the party or their pundits or their, you know, experts you gotta be conversational. It can’t just be straight combative. That’s the operative theory of my show and my podcast and happens to be the answer to most frequent misconception that I’m somehow different since I left CNN. Well, I’m different as a person because I got shit-canned and had to figure out how to deal with it. But on the man. It’s just a different time. 

Amid banter with and dole out thanks to his lead producer Alexandra “Dusty” Cohen, Cuomo said too much of the country’s “not fighting about what matters” when it should be about issues (click “expand”):

You got to put out the different ideas because I trust you to make your own choices. As long as you can just get a fair shake at being exposed to contrasting ideas, so thank you for proving me right. And let’s do it again, alright? And I want to thank my bosses because let me tell you, this is not an ambitious business. It’s not an innovator’s business. They all came last night and they allowed us to try something that nowhere else I’d ever been would even think of trying. 

(….)

But you know what we learned last night is our politics is being dominated by magnified minorities because of social media. And that’s how you get that disconnect, number to answer my own question that I started with last night, 81 percent of the people say we’re more divided than united and its more that they’ve yet 70 percent say we all want the same things. What is the answer to that riddle? Because those two — thosetwo takes should not go together. I think we it’s because they are reacting to social media, but they know that’s not their reality.

To see the relevant transcript from October 31, click “expand.”

NewsNation’s Cuomo
October 31, 2024
8:00 p.m. Eastern

ANDREW CUOMO: I have to tell you. I haven’t been as proud as I am tonight since we first started here at NwsNation because as you know, I wasn’t sure I was ever coming back to TV. The town hall-a-palooza, however, you want to call it, has been such a confirmation of what I know we can be about and not just because it did well, and it really did do well for NewsNation, even though last night we were up against one of the most exciting World Series games that happened to involve the two biggest TV markets that I’ve ever seen. And by the way, I’m a Yankees fan and of course, they lost but was still in amazing game. But here’s why. I’m just so happy, I guess is the right word. We pulled off something — I mean, I know most of you guys, this won’t matter to you. But I got to tell any media, people who are watching this. The team, as small as we have at a startup like NewsNation that had doesn’t — just hasn’t had a lot of reps doing these kinds of productions, no one has ever done anything of this scale. I’m telling you. I’ve been with the best most experienced shops. We would spend weeks getting a single guest and some audience questions going for a town hall and it should take time and it’s not easy. I had more co-hosts that I’ve ever seen, let alone guests and the real relief, though. I’m happy for the team. I really am, but why you guys like that. In a world of constant attack commercials, I can’t even turn on my TV. I can’t even look at my phone and all of it is one note which side is worse scaring you to death a racist versus a radical. That’s what it is. That’s all it is. Trump sees nothing and no one. That is any good in this country except himself. And Harris, look, she’s taken the low road. He is wildly unpopular, but to just and mainly constantly encourage the idea that he’s a dictator in waiting, that’s the best? There’s no constructive dialogue. Interviews that do get reach like Rogan, it’s a wet kiss. Oh, he’s not an interviewer. He’s just a conversationalist. That’s great. I love the podcast. Not so much because of him but because of the guests, because they want his reach right? But that’s not what — I’m not here to have a conversation alone with someone in power. You have to test them. You have to test them and look, I give Rogan credit now. And I’ll explain why in a second. Because he is adding something that’s helpful but not in the context of talking to people who seek or hold power, if they’re going to bullshit you the whole time. I think we could get the straight — gay vote — the gay male vote, says Vance. Really? When Trump just called Anderson Cooper one of the best known men in the media and America Allison, really? What is this? Fourth grade? And it goes on. Nobody say anything. Rogan lets him — you know. The reason you love last night, it was actual disagreement. But with decency. You should have seen the buzz during the commercials between all the different people, regardless of party and I know that was happening even on social media — that dumpster fire. Why? Rogan has it right. Conversation is the cure. All right. Listen, I’m interviewing a president or someone wants to be president. I’ll be conversational, but I got to test them. But not, you know, when it’s people who just are from the party or their pundits or their, you know, experts you gotta be conversational. It can’t just be straight combative. That’s the operative theory of my show and my podcast and happens to be the answer to most frequent misconception that I’m somehow different since I left CNN. Well, I’m different as a person because I got shit-canned and had to figure out how to deal with it. But on the man. It’s just a different time. I could shred Trump every night like tissue paper and any of his surrogates, okay? I’m not gassing myself up. I’ve been doing this a long time. I study hard. I do it at a high level and I could also wow, you with what I know about the Democrats and what they’re not being and it would spin your head. Where would all that aggression get me? Where? Where would it get us? Me? It’d get me a bigger following. Okay. What does that do? A battle to the — exactly where we are is where it gets a battle to the bottom more divided than we should ever be and over nothing, okay? Not-troversies and nonsense. We are not fighting about what matters. I know deep in my bones and last night is proof of premise. Conversation is the cure. You got to put out the different ideas because I trust you to make your own choices. As long as you can just get a fair shake at being exposed to contrasting ideas, so thank you for proving me right. And let’s do it again, alright? And I want to thank my bosses because let me tell you, this is not an ambitious business. It’s not an innovator’s business. They all came last night and they allowed us to try something that nowhere else I’d ever been would even think of trying. And Dusty, please come up here for a second — Dusty, she pulled this off was her idea with the tiniest team in the business. She pulled it off last night. Amazing. Amzing.. Thank you. Congratulations to you. And the team like look at all the empty seats anywhere.

ALEXANDRA “DUSTY” COHEN: There’s nobody here. They’re tired from last night.

CUOMO: You’re the only one who should be tired and you’re but I’ll tell you, I was very gratified. I don’t really care about the ratings. You know, we’re building here. I get it. And we’re up against the World Series. But it was better. I — and I thought I would get, you know, a lot of hate just because it’s me. It couldn’t have gone any better. And for the right reasons. And with real people.

COHEN: Real people. And you know, what’s funny just want to say is a little behind the scenes. I want to do this quickly. But test was after the show, which is always the show after the show, right — is that all the big things you, Bill O’Reilly, Stephen A. Smith, Geraldo Rivera, Bobby Kennedy, Sarah Palin, everybody was in the back. O’Reilly ordered pizza pies for everybody and everybody was just having great time after the show and I thought everybody was going leave angry and it was just the opposite. And that was really that really summed up the night. You know, it ended as well as it started.

CUOMO: I mean, even Cuban — Cuban — was slicing and dicing and last night, but Dana White was here for it. You know, O’Reilly, know, was as nice as he can be about it.

(….)

8:08 p.m. Eastern

CUOMO: But you know what we learned last night is our politics is being dominated by magnified minorities because of social media. And that’s how you get that disconnect, number to answer my own question that I started with last night, 81 percent of the people say we’re more divided than united and its more that they’ve yet 70 percent say we all want the same things. What is the answer to that riddle? Because those two — thosetwo takes should not go together. I think we it’s because they are reacting to social media, but they know that’s not their reality. 

COHEN: And I think it I really want you to get to work. We’ve got a huge show tonight. We just UFO breaking news. But I also want to just say that I think you we try and I’m gonna regret saying this, but we should do something very similar in the couple weeks after the election because things are going to be — there’s going to be even more to talk about. And let’s see if people can behave the same way they did last night. That’ll be a interesting test, I think.

CUOMO: I think the farther away from the election you go, the more reasonable it will be. You just got to see — we set a very high bar anyway, ok? Anyway, thank you very much for what you did. I love you and thank you.