Daily Mail; CNN sees pink: How Embattled broadcaster LIGHTENED 'demonic blood-red' background of Biden's furious 'soul of the nation' - despite new CEO vowing to lose the liberal bias and win back trust

Story from Daily Mail:

CNN appeared to alter the backdrop of President Joe Biden's fiery 'soul of the nation' speech from a stark blood-red to a gentler shade of pink.

The change occurred mid-broadcast of Biden's Thursday speech in Philadelphia while he called out Donald Trump by name and characterized 'MAGA Republicans' as being a threat to the democracy.

Biden delivered the speech in front of Independence Hall and with red spotlights beaming up the brick facade behind him.

As the president raged against his opponents in front of the red backdrop, many viewers on Twitter began comparing him to the evil-emperor from Star Wars and the authoritarian chancellor from V for Vendetta.

Then at one point during CNN's broadcast the red could be seen slowly transitioning to a softer pink-hue, which it remained for the rest of the speech.

But the change appeared to only take place on CNN, as the backdrop remained red C-SPAN, CBS, AND MSNBC.

'CNN appears to have tweaked the video of Biden's speech from demonic red to Pepto-Bismol pink,' wrote former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Twitter, 'Very helpful, as we needed a lot of Pepto-Bismol to get through this!'

A representative for CNN later blamed the color change on a glitch in their broadcast, according to The New York Post.

It comes as the latest crisis to hit the network, with staffers recently saying they fear a purge of top talent after Brian Stelter and John Hardwood were fired.

Standing on the darkened stage with ominous red lighting, the president called Trump out by name and slammed him for promoting the claim the 2020 election was stolen.

Biden also branded him - and MAGA Republicans who follow him - as 'extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic'.

Despite being greeted by warm applause throughout the speech, Biden's night was overshadowed by hecklers who chanted 'f*** Joe Biden' and 'Let's Go Brandon' as well as the fact most major news networks did not air his address live. Only CNN and MSNBC did.

It was a speech that sparked huge backlash from Republicans accusing him of being divisive, and reminded Biden that in October 2020, he said: 'Instead of treating each other's party as the opposition, we treat them as the enemy. This must end!'

In November 2020 hje tweeted: 'To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not enemies.'

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said: 'Tonight, Joe Biden vilified millions of Americans in a divisive & angry speech that was detached from the reality of his political failures. He isn't actually interested in restoring the soul of the nation, he's only interested pitting his fellow Americans against one another.'

Trump quickly hit back at the speech on his Truth Social, posting: 'Someone should explain to Joe Biden, slowly but passionately, that MAGA means, as powerfully as mere words can get, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

'If he doesn't want to Make America Great Again, which through words, action, and thought, he doesn't, then he certainly should not be representing the United States of America!

'If you look at the words and meaning of the awkward and angry Biden speech tonight, he threatened America, including with the possible use of military force. He must be insane, or suffering from late stage dementia!'

He also shared an uncaptioned image of Biden with the dark red lighting on the stage with his arms raised in fists next to a picture of himself kissing the American flag.

Earlier in the evening Biden attacked Trump by name in a 24-minute speech from Independence Hall in Philadelphia in his most direct attack on his predecessor to date.

He said: 'Equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise,' Biden declared at the top of his remarks before Philadelphia's Independence Hall.

He called out Trump by name, slamming the former president for his false claim the 2020 election was stolen and berating those who support Trump.

'Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represented extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,' Biden said to great applause from his supporters.

He made it clear he doesn't think every Republican is 'extreme' or a threat but said 'there's no question that the Republican party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.'

'And that is a threat to this country,' he said. 'Too much of what's happening in our country today is not normal.'

CNN staffers are 'terrified' that new boss Chris Licht is launching a purge of the woke after Brian Stelter and John Harwood were unceremoniously fired - as network tries to win back 'most trusted name in news' title.

CNN staffers said they fear a network-wide purge of top talent after Brian Stelter and White House correspondent John Hardwood were unceremoniously fired.

After Hardwood announced his surprise departure on Friday, just hours after reporting from the White House, current and former CNN employees told the The Washington Post that there appears to be a culling of the woke at the media outlet.

Both Hardwood and Stelter, the host of Reliable Sources who was fired last month, saw their contracts terminated prematurely.

It's seen as evidence that new boss Chris Licht is looking to cast out those who have been critical of Donald Trump and his allies in order to present a more neutral CNN and win back its 'most trusted name in news' title.

One CNN journalist told the Post: 'People are freaked out. It almost feels like there's a pattern. Is there a purge going on?

'They seem to be sending a message: 'Watch what you say. Watch what you do.''

In a memo to staff in May, Licht, who was appointed to the network by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, said CNN needed to regain the trust of the people.

He said the outlet needed to focus on 'fearlessly speaking truth to power, challenging the status quo, questioning 'group-think,' and educating viewers and readers with straightforward facts and insightful commentary, while always being respectful of differing viewpoints.'

CNN journalists, however, say the new boss has done little to elaborate on what his vision entails and what reporters should do to avoid coming off as partisan when reporting about major issues.

'I think they're hoping people will just guess what to do,' one journalist told the Post.

Another employee also criticized the network's lack of explanations over the recent firings, saying: 'Longtime CNN personalities are disappearing, and the viewers don't know why.'

Viewers were speculating online that anchors could be next, with Don Lemon, a lightning rod for the right, being mentioned. Other popular anchors on the possible chopping block included Jim Acosta and Jake Tapper.

A veteran producer, who like the others spoke on the condition of anonymity over concerns about their jobs, said the recent departures and unclear messaging spells trouble for the network ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

'It's a really confusing and unsettling time from top to bottom at CNN,' the producer told the Post. 'I don't know anyone who is happy right now.'

In a statement about Harwood's firing, CNN said: 'We appreciate John's work covering the White House, and we wish him all the best.

Harwood, 65, has a long and storied career that includes stints at the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

He tweeted at noon on Friday that he had 'personal news' to share, and said 'today's my last day at CNN.'

The reporter, who has been with CNN since 2021, said he's 'proud of the work' and thanked his colleagues.

Harwood was a vocal critic of Trump, and earlier this year he said Trump was 'mentally unwell.'

During his last day on the job, Harwood called Trump a 'dishonest demagogue' and agreed with Joe Biden's divisive speech calling the former president and his MAGA supporters 'a threat' to American democracy.

Harwood admitted his statements veered off the path of journalism but maintained his criticisms against Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

'We are brought up to believe there's two different political parties with different points of view and we don't take sides in honest disagreements between them,' he said.

'But that's not what we're talking about. These are not honest disagreements.'

Former CNN contributor Wajahat Ali told the Post that Harwood's backtracking was most likely intentional to save face after being fired.

Ali suggested that the firings were a way to get the message across to the rest of CNN's staff to keep opinions out of their reports.

Harwood's departure comes less than a month after CNN mainstay Brian Stelter was forced out of the network when they cancelled his Sunday media show Reliable Sources.

Stelter was reportedly summoned to Licht's office and left looking 'ashen.'

The show has struggled, however, in its ratings war with Fox News.

Fox's rival show, MediaBuzz, has averaged 1.5 million viewers this year, while Reliable Sources had 787,000.

The in-house loss of staff members comes after CNN shut down its CNN+ streaming service after less than a month of it being online.

That decision led to 239 employees being laid off.