Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max If there was a honeymoon in the CNN-Biden world relationship, it’s now over. The White House has been frustrated by some of the network’s programming and talent decisions under new network chief CHRIS LICHT, who continues to reign in the perceived anti-Trump zeal some people at the channel engaged in under his predecessor JEFF ZUCKER. One person with knowledge of the situation said White House officials were irked by the negative coverage of President JOE BIDEN’s speech last week in Philadelphia decrying the threats to American democracy. The person specifically noted the network’s focus on the speech’s optics in which Biden stood in front of a dramatic red background with several U.S. Marines behind him. Much of the cable news chatter on the speech’s visuals were driven by BRIANNA KEILAR, an outspoken CNN host known for her tough grilling of Trump officials. The “New Day” anchor blasted the Biden White House over the presence of the U.S. Marines during Biden’s address, saying it was “wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it.” The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But Keilar’s comments weren’t the only source of its frustration with CNN. West Wing Playbook previously reported that Licht met with White House chief of staff RON KLAIN earlier this year as part of the network chief’s outreach to prominent members of both parties (he’s also made a point to meet with top Republicans on Capitol Hill, including House minority leader KEVIN MCCARTHY, to help woo high up GOP guests back to the channel). So when CNN White House correspondent JOHN HARWOOD (whose coverage has been harshly critical of DONALD TRUMP ) announced he was leaving the network long before his contract was up, it was noticeable how quickly Klain blasted out a number of tweets praising Harwood. Among those including a tweet that criticized Licht by name. One CNN staffer told West Wing Playbook that during an internal meeting this week, Licht brushed off online criticism of the Harwood departure. Over the weekend, Klain also reposted resistance media personality RICK WILSON’s tweet dubbing CNN “diet Fox” after anchor POPPY HARLOW asked press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE whether Biden would apologize for calling Republicans “semi-fascists.” The Biden White House, like others before it, publicly argues that it is indifferent to the chatter on cable news. But Klain’s reaction to recent developments at CNN underscore the degree to which they watch and follow closely what’s taking place on the networks. They’ve complained before, too, about what they consider the vapidity of CNN, which they believe focuses too much on horse races and political punditry. As West Wing Playbook previously noted, White House officials have also had more specific complaints: Former Obama strategist DAVID AXELROD has driven them crazy with his occasional criticism of the job they’re doing. Despite the complaints, even some White House staff acknowledge that they erred in certain components of Biden’s speech. Two other people with knowledge of the mood inside the building said some staff were flabbergasted by the advanced team's work, which made it so that a close up shot of the president only included the blood red background. As for Biden’s Republican critics, there are some new, but slight, data points to suggest that they may be warming ever so slightly to CNN. While the Republican National Committee has regularly bashed CNN in recent years, on Wednesday morning, it shared a segment by CNN commentator and host JOHN AVLON arguing that the political left has ignored urban crime. But actual Republican viewers don’t yet seem fully on board, at least not all of them. During Biden’s speech last week, CNN attempted to color correct parts of the speech in real time, noticeably lessening the intensity of the red backlighting behind Biden. A CNN source pinned the blame on CBS News, which provided the television pool feed during the speech, saying the pooler white balanced the camera earlier in the day, inadvertently making the background appear even redder on television. But it was CNN that took the heat, riling up conservatives online for the change in background color. Daniel Lippman contributed reporting. MESSAGE US — Are you BARACK OBAMA? We want to hear from you and we may publish your response tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.
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