CNN’s Chris Cuomo Bashes MSNBC’s Chuck Todd: ‘Chuck Todd Ain’t Jake Tapper’

CNN’s Chris Cuomo, who was the subject of an extensive Hollywood Reporter profile Wednesday, contained some harsh words for his network rival, MSNBC’s Chuck Todd.

Cuomo unfavorably compared Todd, who hosts NBC’s Meet the Press, to Jake Tapper: “I would argue that Chuck Todd ain’t Jake Tapper. Jake Tapper has a much bigger footprint in politics than Chuck Todd does.”

Cuomo also said, “Anderson Cooper is a hell of a lot bigger than any male anywhere on network television,” referring to one of the most recognizable hosts on the network.

Chuck Todd quickly fired back at Cuomo Friday when asked about the CNN host’s comments on The Bernie & Sid radio show.

“I just read [Chris Cuomo’s remarks] as somebody who wanted to defend that fact that nobody in broadcast television wanted to hire him, I guess, or he couldn’t get the job that he wanted,” Todd said. “I don’t know what it was, but he was awfully defensive, so he took shots at other people.”

According to Mediaite, Todd’s NBC Sunday program draws 3.7 million people on average, far outranking Cuomo’s CNN show, which averages over 800,000 viewers per weeknight at the primetime 9 PM slot, less than Maddow’s (MSNBC) and Hannity’s (FOX) programs. CNN ranks thirds in viewership of the three cable news networks.

While Cuomo and Todd are not in direct competition, they both are routinely criticized by conservatives and targets of President Trump.

Trump famously enjoys referring to Todd as ‘sleepy eyes’ at rallies. He also holds back no verbal punches for CNN, a network he regularly derides at rallies and press conferences as “fake news.”