Chris Cuomo slams Norah O'Donnell for quoting attempted assassination suspect's manifesto to Trump

Norah O'Donnell, Chris Cuomo.

Newsnation anchor Chris Cuomo criticized 60 Minutes anchor Norah O'Donnell for the manner in which she quoted from the manifesto authorities say was written by the suspect in the attempted assassination against Trump over the weekend during her interview with the president. Cuomo said O'Donnell's conduct exposed an anti-Trump bias that's rampant in mainstream media.

The comments came at the top of the latest episode of his podcast, The Chris Cuomo Project, which was released on Wednesday. He was referring to a portion of the 60 Minutes interview with Trump, conducted less than 24 hours after the foiled assassination attempt, in which O'Donnell read from Cole Allen's alleged manifesto. The portion she read to Trump contained numerous unfounded accusations that assailed Trump's character. 

Trump was visibly disturbed by O'Donnell reading the passage. "You read that crap from some sick person?" Trump responded. "You should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I'm not any of those things. You're a disgrace. But go ahead. Let's finish the interview."

Cuomo said it was poor form to treat the deranged rantings of an allegedly homicidal 32-year-old man as fact. “It’s OK for CBS to have crazy talk from a crazy man read as verbatim fact. Why? Because they like sticking it to Trump. Norah O’Donnell liked the idea of the free shot! Why?" Cuomo asked rhetorically. Because "all her friends would applaud!” he answered. The cable news anchor suggested the media apply different standards to Trump than they do to other political figures.

Cuomo went on to provide an insider's view of how the mainstream media work. 

"I've been in this business forever and I know everyone involved and exactly what goes into the alchemy of what gets asked in an interview like that." He also took issue with those who have praised O'Donnell's interview tactic as "clever."  

"Why was it clever?" Cuomo wondered. "Because journalists love to have it both ways," suggesting that reporters like asking gotcha questions, but can't take the heat when a person they're interviewing turns things back on them. 

“Norah wants the shine. She does not want the smoke," Cuomo concluded. "She’s not built for that.” Watch the clip from the podcast below.