CNN rising star Kaitlan Collins, the 31-year-old co-host of “CNN This Morning” was handed the 9 p.m. prime time slot once held by disgraced anchor Chris Cuomo, network boss Chris Licht said Wednesday.
Collins, the moderator of CNN’s much-criticized town hall with former President Donald Trump last week, had been rumored to be the frontrunner for the prized nightly anchor chair.
Licht confirmed the promotion in a memo to staffers and detailed plans for her start date at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation.
“Kaitlan will begin anchoring the 9 pm regularly in June. In her new program, officially launching later this summer, Kaitlan will showcase why she’s one of the top reporters and interviewers in the game,” Licht said in his memo.
“She is a smart and gifted journalist who we’ve all seen hold lawmakers and newsmakers accountable,” he continued. “She pushes politicians off their talking points, gets real answers – and as everyone who’s worked with her knows – breaks a lot of news.”
Collins has been among the rotating hosts to fill the 9 p.m. hour since the network fired Cuomo in December 2021.
Licht said Collins will bring “fresh reporting that adds new perspective to the biggest stories of the day,” while exposing “uncovered angles and challenge conventional wisdom to make sure viewers are seeing a story from every side.”
Poppy Harlow, Collins’ co-host on “CNN This Morning,” will continue anchoring the morning program with a rotating group of co-hosts, Licht said.
Harlow and Collins helmed the morning show alongside Lemon before the former evening anchor was dumped following a series of missteps, including saying on air that 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime.”
The Post also reported that Lemon yelled at Collins after a tense on-air segment during their morning show in December.
The Post also reported that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently refused to be interviewed by the gaffe-prone Lemon.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
