KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Dec. 7, 2020 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 a month after election day turned into election week, John King \u201985, Hon. \u201910 is finally getting some much-deserved time off.<\/p>\n
CNN\u2019s chief national correspondent has spent the year following the pandemic and covering one of the most divisive elections in U.S. history. So, he\u2019s stockpiled vacation. It\u2019s time he\u2019s spending with his 9-year-old son, Jonah, and working on overdue house projects \u2013 \u201cspackling, caulking, painting, plumbing, raking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was (and is) an extraordinary election cycle, but I am pretty good at mostly disconnecting when the break comes,\u201d says King in an email interview. \u201cSo, while there\u2019s no normal in 2020, I am better than I was years ago in getting away for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
During election week, CNN averaged 6.1 million viewers a night during primetime \u2013 tuning in to hear lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer and King tirelessly report and analyze results from CNN\u2019s state-of-the-art election map, the Magic Wall. King, a graduate of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s journalism program, gutted the week out on about 3 hours\u2019 sleep a night as he distilled outcomes from around the country \u2013 seemingly county by county.<\/p>\n
King\u2019s marathon performance \u2013 and that of MSNBC\u2019s Steve Kornacki \u2013 captured the imagination of anxious viewers riveted to their TVs. They were the talk of social media and late-night talk shows. On Twitter, they were crowned \u201cchartthrobs.\u201d Jimmy Fallon penned an on-air thank-you to them as the \u201cmcsteamy and mcdreamy of touch screens.\u201d Memes celebrated them on TikTok.<\/p>\n
King and the Magic Wall were virtual guests on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d On \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d Alex Moffat played King \u2013 with bloody stumps for fingers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got the sore and worn digits just about right,\u201d says King.<\/p>\n
King, who\u2019s worked nine presidential elections and won Emmy and Peabody awards for his election coverage, is used to some celebrity as a CNN anchor. But this time, he says, the attention was more intense.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of this just could be the evolution of social media,\u201d he says. \u201cThere was big interest when we first unveiled our \u2018Magic Wall\u2019 in 2008. This time, in my view, there was more, and it ranged from more young people in the U.S. to some fascinating interest and conversation globally. It was proof to me of the high-intensity environment anyway, plus with Trump there is an added element because he is so polarizing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is gratifying to see people trust CNN, and me, at such an important moment. We work hard to earn that trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite all the kudos on social media, there were some who took exception to King tweeting that he found election night \u201cfun.\u201d But, he says, he stills gets excited for election night, and is honored by the responsibility he has as part of CNN\u2019s coverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it is not \u2018fun\u2019 for a partisan on either side to endure hours \u2013 in this case days \u2013 of up and down uncertainty,\u201d he says. \u201c[But] I love my job and enjoy the challenge; to me that is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked how he would rank the 2020 election \u2013 with nearly 160 million people casting ballots and President Donald Trump still contesting results a month after the election \u2013 King said 2020 will be remembered for \u201cTrump\u2019s defiance in the face of facts and math.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he adds, \u201cI thought after 1992 and the [Ross] Perot factor there would never be another one to match the drama and unpredictability of that. Then along came 2000 and hanging chads and the Supreme Court. This one deserves positive notice for the higher participation. It will also receive considerable study \u2013 and scorn \u2013 for the president’s constant effort to undermine truth and democratic institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n