CNN’s love affair with the Trump-Russia hoax didn’t just tank its credibility—it helped drive the network into a full-blown collapse. That’s the stunning admission from a former CNN anchor who says the network’s obsession with the now-debunked collusion narrative cost it the trust of millions of everyday Americans.
Dave Briggs, a former co-host of CNN’s *Early Start* from 2017 to 2019, pulled back the curtain in a recent podcast appearance, confirming what many on the Right have said all along: CNN alienated Middle America by pushing non-stop anti-Trump hysteria during the Russia investigation.
Speaking on his new podcast *Sanity with Alisyn & Dave*, alongside ex-CNN colleague Alisyn Camerota, Briggs didn’t mince words. “Every day I came in and argued with the powers that be about obsessing over the Russia investigation,” Briggs said. “No one I know off the East Coast gave a damn how that investigation ended.”
That obsession, according to Briggs, is what cost CNN “30, 40% of the country.”
To most Americans outside the media echo chambers of New York and Washington, the Russia collusion narrative was just more noise from a network that had clearly chosen sides. And when the Mueller report ultimately failed to deliver the “smoking gun” CNN promised night after night, the damage was done.
CNN’s editorial decisions, driven by left-wing executives like Jeff Zucker, prioritized attacking President Trump over reporting real news. The result? A short-term ratings sugar high followed by a long, painful crash.
CNN’s primetime audience has now dropped to levels not seen in nearly 30 years. In May 2025, the network averaged just 405,000 viewers in primetime, with a dismal 74,000 in the coveted 25-54 demographic. Compare that to Fox News, which continues to dominate cable news by actually speaking to Americans who live outside the coastal elite bubble.
Meanwhile, CNN’s internal chaos continues. The network laid off 6% of its workforce earlier this year and is bracing for more cuts as it spins off from Warner Bros. Discovery into a cost-squeezing unit under Global Networks. CEO Mark Thompson is reportedly dumping \$70 million into digital in a desperate pivot to streaming, all while long-time staff brace for salary reductions and tighter expense policies.
Let’s be clear: CNN’s downfall wasn’t about ratings strategies gone wrong—it was about arrogance. It was about an elitist network believing it could lecture half the country while ignoring the issues that actually matter to them.
While the Left still clings to the “Russia, Russia, Russia” narrative like a security blanket, even its own former employees are admitting the truth: America tuned out because CNN stopped doing journalism and started pushing propaganda.
Now, with Trump back in the White House and CNN floundering for relevance, it’s painfully obvious that the network’s obsession didn’t just fail—it broke the trust of millions. And they may never come back.
