Keith Olbermann blames President Donald Trump for having "exerted influence" in failed job negotiations between the liberal commentator and CNN.
In a New York Times Magazine interview posted Monday,
Olbermann, who now hosts series of web shorts titled "The Resistance" that are posted by GQ magazine, told the Times, "There was an offer, then there wasn't an offer, then there was an offer."
"And Trump didn't like me, and apparently exerted influence on that," he told the Times magazine.
A CNN spokeswoman told the Times, however, there were only brief preliminary conversations about Olbermann joining its HLN spinoff, not the flagship channel, and they took place well over a year ago, without any involvement from Trump.
The Washington Free Beacon noted Trump has only once slammed Olbermann in public, after he announced he was moving out of Trump Tower in March 2016.
"Keith is a failed broadcaster, and the people in the building couldn't stand him," Trump told CNN Money in an email. "He is just trying to use 'Trump' to get publicity and stay relevant."
The Washington Free Beacon also questions how much influence Trump could have on CNN, which has been the frequent target of Trump criticism and which recently refused to run a Trump campaign ad.
Olbermann has worked for – and parted ways with – ESPN twice, and was suspended from MSNBC in 2011, the Times reported.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.