CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer Left Mid-Show After Looking Visibly Ill — What Happened to Him?
By Callie (Carlos) CadornigaPublished Feb. 9 2024, 10:53 a.m. ET
The journalists and reporters at CNN have had their work cut out for them in 2024. Between combating controversy over their coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and covering presidential campaigns that are highly suspect, there isn't a shortage of hot news to cover and things to address in our political climate. In fact, it's moments like these that explain why we have The Situation Room on CNN. The political news show covers all sorts of international breaking news.
The ongoing live daily newscast has been hosted by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer since 2005. He has worked as a journalist for several decades since 1972 and took on the hosting position after his U.S. presidential election coverage in 2004.
He has been in the anchor chair for nearly 20 years as of this writing and has consistently reported breaking news. However, he seemed to look ill on the air in February 2024. What happened to him, exactly? Here's what we know so far.
Is Wolf Blitzer OK? He looked visibly ill while on the air.
During a Situation Room episode that aired on Feb. 8, 2024, viewers almost immediately noticed that Wolf didn't look well. At the time, he was interviewing Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin about Donald Trump's legal standing when it comes to his impending criminal record. Reportedly, Raskin wasn't aware of Wolf's state at the time.
As Raskin spoke on the subject, Wolf began visibly retching. Although he tried to maintain his composure, he seemed to be getting worse and worse as Raskin continued to speak. CNN then cut to commercials mid-interview. After an extended break, The Situation Room returned to the air, albeit with Chief Legal Affairs correspondent Paula Reid hosting in Wolf's place.
Fans almost immediately became concerned about Wolf's health. On Twitter, many wondered if he was trying not to vomit. Others believed he might have been holding back a cough and that it was becoming harder for him to do so.
Shortly after the incident, Wolf himself took to Twitter to allay people's fears. However, he wasn't exactly forthcoming about details.
Ummm is Wolf Blitzer ok?
pic.twitter.com/yQReExxZ9Z
He tweeted, "I'm fine! Thanks for the well wishes. I'll see you back in The Situation Room soon."
CNN later told The New York Times (as reported by Yahoo) that Wolf "wasn't feeling 100 percent while anchoring Thursday night." He is expected to return to his regular hosting duties soon.
News surrounding Wolf's health has never truly come up before. Whether he chooses not to be forthcoming about his physical health or simply has nothing to disclose, he hasn't shown any signs of health issues in the past, let alone on air. The same seems to hold true even after this incident, although it stands to reason that even the busiest reporters can feel unwell from time to time.
The Situation Room airs weekdays from 6 p.m. EST to 7 p.m. EST on CNN.
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