Former President Donald Trump has issued a statement mocking CNN after it was announced on Thursday that they are shutting down their streaming service, less than a month after it launched.
CNN+ launched on March 29 and will be shuttering on Saturday, April 30.
“Congratulations to CNN+ on their decision to immediately FOLD for a lack of ratings, or viewers in any way, shape, or form,” Trump said in a statement.
Trump did not hold back as he took aim at former Fox News reporter Chris Wallace, who left the network to work at CNN+.
“It was like an empty desert out there despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars and the hiring of low-rated Chris Wallace, a man who tried so hard to be his father, Mike, but lacked the talent and whatever else is necessary to be a star. In any event, it’s just one more piece of CNN and Fake News that we don’t have to bother with anymore!” Trump continued. BREAKING: President Trump has issued a statement on CNN+ and Chris Wallace pic.twitter.com/HfZ3RULwmX
— Jack Posobiec ☦️ (@JackPosobiec) April 21, 2022
Jon Nicosia, the former managing editor of Mediaite, recently reported that he had sources saying that Wallace was having "daily breakdowns" over the state of CNN+.
“SOURCE: Chris Wallace is ‘having daily breakdowns’ over the ‘miserable launch’ of @CNNplus. Wants a ‘CNN show or is threatening to walk’ they go on. ‘He is having staffers count how many times a day his promo is playing,’” Nicosia tweeted. SOURCE: Chris Wallace is "having daily breakdowns" over the "miserable launch" of @CNNplus. Wants a "CNN show or is threatening to walk" they go on. "He is having staffers count how many times a day his promo is playing"
— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) April 12, 2022
CNN+ was only able to generate roughly 150,000 subscribers after the launch and struggled to reach 10,000 daily viewers.
Two days before the cancellation was officially announced, Axios reported that Warner Bros. Discovery had suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and laid off CNN's longtime chief financial officer.
“Let me be clear: this move is in no way a reflection of the talented and hardworking people who poured their heart and soul into building and flawlessly launching CNN+ in a very short period of time,” incoming CNN President Chris Licht said in a memo to staff on Thursday. “It also is not a reflection of the quality of the talent and content of CNN+, some of which will migrate to CNN’s programming or some of the company’s other networks.”
CNN reportedly spent approximately $300 million on the streaming service. They had originally planned to invest a billion dollars and hire "hundreds" of journalists to cover a wide range of topics.
CNN+ employees will reportedly be paid for the next 90 days and be given opportunities to explore other positions around the company.
