CBS Evening News Host Tony Dokoupil Iced Out of China After Visa Snafu

CBS Evening News

CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil will be the only nightly network news anchor not to host his show from China during President Donald Trump’s visit to the country.

Trump is in Beijing this week for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Traveling with Trump are several CEOs of American companies, including Tim Cook of Apple and Elon Musk of Tesla, SpaceX, et al. Trump’s son Eric Trump, who has business ties to the Chinese Communist Party, is also joining.

On Wednesday, Semafor reported that Dokopuil will broadcast CBS Evening News from Taipei, even as NBC’s Tom Llamas ABC’s David Muir, and Fox News’ Bret Baier hosted NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight, and Special Report, respectively, from Beijing. According to Semafor:

CBS appears to have planned similar coverage, and was forced to change course at the last minute: On the CBS morning planning call Wednesday, they discussed plans for Dokoupil to broadcast from the Taiwanese capital, according to a person on the call.

Two people who had been briefed on the issue said Dokoupil had not been able to get a Chinese visa, though it’s unclear whether the block came from a late application or another issue. CBS News declined to comment and the Chinese Embassy in Washington didn’t respond immediately to inquiries as to why Dokoupil is not in Beijing.

A source at CBS waved away the development, stating that the network has two correspondents traveling with Trump in China.

Twisting the knife a little, Semafor noted that this comes as CBS Evening News is “already in third place” in the ratings among the nightly network news programs.

“The network’s critics have focused on the fact that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and her team lack experience in running a television network, which can be, among other things, heavily reliant on complex logistics,” Semafor concluded.

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