CNN has had various guest hosts filling in the vacant time slot left behind by the firing of anchor Chris Cuomo for improperly advising his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, about handling sexual misconduct allegations.
Filling in that time slot has been Jim Acosta, Laura Coates, Brianna Keller, and Michael Smerconish.
Smerconish recently discussed the possibility of taking over the weekday time slot, but with so much already on his plate, he states it’s not a job he’s pining for at the moment.
“I don’t know if it’s a job I want, candidly,” Smerconish said, per USA Today. “If you had asked me that question 10 years ago, I would have had a different answer, but I’m in a pretty good place, doing things that I mostly enjoy.”
The CNN host has his show on Saturday mornings, “Smerconish,” along with hosting “The Michael Smerconish Show” on SiriusXM. Furthermore, Smerconish brings a different perspective to the network and cable news, filling that centrist vacuum.
“When I say that there’s a void or a vacuum, I should be clear — I’m not talking about CNN,” he said. “I’m talking about the media landscape generally, and the cable landscape in particular. I think it’s become a world of absolutes when that is not the way our society is.”
“I mean, I don’t meet people, unless they’re people who have a cable show or a radio show or a podcast, who see the world entirely through a left or right lens. I see people for whom the issues are a mixed bag. They’re liberal on some things, usually the social issues, more conservative on other things, usually the fiscal issues.”
Smerconish fashions himself as an independent thinker and speaks to people who are a mixed bag, meaning they’re liberal on some things and more conservative on other things.
“I tell people if you read the newsletter any one day or you listen to me on radio any one day or CNN any one day you might come away thinking this guy’s left of center, this guy’s right of center,” Smerconish said. “Give me a couple of days, and I will confuse you, I hope, and you will not be able to pigeonhole me.”