(soft music) >>> and we are back with geraldo rivera. so geraldo, hi. great to have you. so you exited two week ago from fox? >> has it been that long? >> i think so. it was july 4th? >> it seems like just yesterday. >> june 30th. pretty close. pretty close. >> how are you feeling? >> i feel liberated. i feel free, free at last. >> and why? why did you feel hamstrung there? >> well, you are muzzled. corporate discipline muzzles people, even if self muzzlement, if that's a word. i felt -- first of all, they denied me permission to go on many shows over the course of my long career there. they have a very rigid, very controlling kind of discipline. >> but what were they afraid of? >> my flamboyance and saying things like i said about former president trump, you know, that he knifed the constitution in the back. when you have that as your attitude, that's the position, and you're in a conservative milieu, you know, it's pretty noxious to folks who believe a certain way. it's not my choice. i hope to devote a lot of my post career life to working with the developmentally disa

joining us now is -- geraldo rivera.cades, and this is his first interview on cnn in 15 years. hello, friend. >> it seems like such a short time. great to see you. one of my favorites when you are at fox, i've been watching here, you're doing a great job. it's so cool. >> thanks, robert. >> feels great to be here. >> feels great to see. you will get into all things boston, but the news gods have been busy tonight. let's get started on the news. downtown submitted to target letter from jack smith, as you know, who is investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election, january 6th attack on the capital. how do you think that all of this will play against the backdrop of a presidential election? >> every charge, every news conference by the justice department. every move to prosecute him will be more votes in the republican primary. they strengthen his hands, to make his nomination ever more certain. even if he were to be convicted and go to jail, he would be -- when the republican primary, even as a federal prisoner. one

brokaw: geraldo rivera is back in a controversy tonight. ound himself in a real free for all. i get sick and tired of seeing uncle tom here, sucking up, trying to be a white man. go ahead, troy, go ahead. now, let me tell you -- [ audience shouting ] sit down, man. hey! come on. no. you got it coming. you got it coming. dude... get up and get it. nah. hey, hold it! hold it! sit down! [ indistinct shouting ] brokaw: rivera suffered a broken nose but he says the show will be broadcast later this month in its entirety. well, that's not something, you know, i would have done. but there was a lot of hypocrisy. one of the major magazines put the picture of geraldo getting hit with a chair on the cover. and the article said, "isn't this awful? look what's happened to television." and yet they couldn't wait to use it to sell their own magazine. let's go to the audience, all right. i want to speak to you guys. you guys are... shales: over the years, broadcasting has deteriorated. and now in this era of deregulation, it's deteriorating further. give p

and geraldo rivera got a nice sendoff after 23 years at fox. conclusion with him. he is a character. >> and this is "american idol"! here we go. [cheers and applause] >> pat sajak giving up wheel of fortune, the replacement has been named. ryan seacrest who's hosted "american idol" for two days says i'm truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary pat sajak. that's it for this edition of media was. hope you're enjoying this holiday weekend. check out my daily podcast, apple itunes is a good place to do it. we are back here, doesn't matter if it's a holiday, i show up. we're back here next sunday, # 11 eastern, with the only media analysis show on national television. ♪ finish ♪ ♪ huh, huh, so did their dog roger. ♪ ♪ gain scent beads keep even the stinkiest stuff smelling fresh. you didn't live this strong, this long to get put on the shelf like a porcelain doll. but one out of two women over 50 will suffer a fracture from osteoporosis. you should know you can build new bone with evenity® for postmenopausal women with osteop