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Tales from the CNN Trump-Era Green Room

Kirsten Powers, who went from liberal on Fox News to anti-Trump voice on CNN, explains what happens when the shouting matches end, the cameras turn off, and you’re stuck in the green room with Santorum. And how to handle it all, and more, with a little grace.

CNN stage
Photo by Stephen Morton/Getty Images
Julia Ioffe
November 4, 2021

About five years ago, I went to a conference called the Faith Angle Forum, hosted by the Faith & Policy Center, a conservative-leaning Washington think tank. The Forum is a nice little getaway where journalists and faith leaders and scholars can meet and learn from each other. I was massively skeptical, as this is very much not my jam, but my very close friend, the New York Times Magazine political reporter Robert Draper, insisted that I attend. It’ll be interesting, he said.