CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer appeared to be on the verge of vomiting during a live broadcast of The Situation Room on Thursday, a clip of the program showed. Blitzer did not return to the broadcast after the incident.
Blitzer was speaking to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) about Colorado's effort to keep former President Donald Trump off its state ballot. The 75-year-old host and his guest were shown side by side on a split screen.
As Raskin continued to speak, Blitzer appeared to be increasingly in distress. He swallowed hard and grimaced as it looked like he was attempting to keep from vomiting.
Nobody at the network seemed to notice this and kept the broadcast going through Blitzer's ordeal. However, according to Mediaite, the network eventually cut away to a shot of just Raskin as he continued his answer.
With Blitzer now out of frame, audio of what sounded like someone throwing up off-screen made the broadcast. The network cut to commercial after that.
After Blitzer failed to finish the rest of the show, CNN later told the Washington Post that he was indeed ill. "Wolf wasn’t feeling 100% while anchoring Thursday night," a statement from CNN to Post reporter Will Sommer said.
"He looks forward to being back in the Situation Room and appreciates the well wishes." Blitzer later took to X, formerly Twitter, to quell any budding rumors.
Media news—CNN responds to Wolf Blitzer getting sick and leaving his show suddenly with a statement: "Wolf wasn’t feeling 100% while anchoring Thursday night. He looks forward to being back in the Situation Room and appreciates the well wishes." https://t.co/yBbYAhFfGN
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) February 9, 2024
"I’m fine! Thanks for the well wishes. I’ll see you back in the Situation Room soon," Blitzer wrote.
Earlier in the week, Blitzer had returned to the show after some time away from the news desk. "After a few days off, it’s good to be back today reporting the news in The Situation Room," he posted Monday.
Of course, with the state of politics being what it is, the outpouring of well-wishes was punctuated with jokes at Blitzer's expense, the Washington Times revealed. "Raskin’s LIES are enough to make anyone vomit," one online comment noted.
While Blitzer may have fallen ill, other developments at CNN are making employees queasy. As the New York Post reported, the network announced Monday that it would be cutting its beleaguered morning program, which is a ratings failure.
"CNN This Morning — launched in November 2022 with a trio of hosts that included Don Lemon before he was fired — will no longer air from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.," a memo from CNN head Mark Thompson said. Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly, the show's current co-hosts, will be reassigned, while the rest of the staff will have to reapply for a network job.
Getting ill on live television is a trial for even the most seasoned broadcast veteran. At least Blizter presumably has a chance for a speedy recovery, unlike CNN.
