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CNN’s Anderson Cooper left netizens stunned after insulting former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu on air. The primetime host and the Republican were discussing Elon Musk’s recent Oval Office appearance and transparency in the government’s spending, as Cooper fired expletives at the politician. The news host has since publicly apologized for the same.
On Tuesday, February 11, on the Anderson Cooper 360 show, when Cooper mentioned Musk talking about the alleged $59 million spent by the Biden government on luxury hotels, Sununu responded by saying, “That was FEMA money for migrants. That’s okay now?”
Anderson Cooper then said:
“I’m not saying it’s okay. Don’t put words in my mouth.”
In response to the same, Sununu asked Cooper to “stop that process,” to which Cooper said,
“Don’t be a d**k.”
Netizens have since taken to X to react to the viral moment, with one person saying:
"Tisk tisk Anderson. Very disappointing."
Several others seemingly attacked Anderson Cooper online, with comments reading:
“When they lose the narrative- they always go with the name calling. Sununu for the rare win,” an X user said.
“Anderson Cooper trying to emulate @elonmusk,” another user wrote.
“Can’t wait for Anderson Cooper’s last day at CNN,” a netizen commented.
The comments came after Cooper and his guests discussed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which has been monitoring other government departments’ funds, as per Mediaite on February 11. Meanwhile, some other reactions on X read:
“This is another reason why I no longer watch @CNN profanity on live TV from @andersoncooper,” an X user said.
“@CNN that was completely unprofessional by Anderson. Fire him,” another netizen said.
“So incredibly unprofessional!” an internet user said.
“I want to apologize”: Anderson Cooper apologizes to Chris Sonunu following on-air spat
After the show’s panel ended debating on the topics for the day and Cooper was about to wrap up the segment, he apologized to the former Governor. As per Raw Story on February 11, he said:
“Before we go, I want to apologize. I was mean, I was rude to you...”
In response to the same, Sununu told Cooper:
“Are you kidding? I grew up with seven brothers and sisters, and I’m a Sununu. I’m a former governor. Do you want to know what I’m normally called? It’s one of the nicest things I’ve been called all week - it’s great.”
However, Cooper reiterated, apologizing and saying he didn't know why he said what he did. Sununu then ended the show’s segment by adding:
“It keeps it spicy, keeps it hot. It’s post 8 o’ clock have some fun on CNN.”
The interview comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on all federal agencies to work with the US DOGE service, in hopes of cutting the workforce and limiting future hiring, as per The Guardian on February 12. The president was joined by Elon Musk, who is overseeing DOGE, a department that aims to find government inefficiencies. Musk also said:
“We are actually trying to be as transparent as possible. So all of our actions are maximally transparent. I don’t know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the DOGE organization.”
As per The Guardian, Musk confirmed that the DOGE team had swept through roughly 20 government agencies and sought the removal of career officials who stood in their way, to ensure access to sensitive data systems.
