CNN Chief Jeff Zucker said he’d hire Shep Smith days after the television anchor abruptly left Fox News.

“I think Shep’s a great journalist,” Zucker said during an interview with Brian Stelter at CNN’s Citizen Conference in New York. “I understand he’s not able to take any jobs for the foreseeable future. When he’s available, he is somebody who is very talented and I would be very open to talking to him.”

The Daily Beast reported that before he left Fox News, Smith was known for being one of the most liberal people on the conservative network, as he frequently criticized President Donald Trump. Zucker claimed that Fox had become an “untenable” environment for someone like Smith, “who was a truth-teller who set out to hold people in power accountable. That is not something that organization does, that is not something in full force there, not even in half force.”

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Stelter went on to say that while Fox is often driven by right-wing punditry, it does still employ serious journalists. Zucker then took the opportunity to brutally attack Fox, which typically dominates CNN in the ratings.

“You repeat that line a lot and I think it’s one of the mistakes you make in your journalism,” Zucker told Stelter. “Are there a handful of great journalists in that org? Sure. Are there are one or two really good anchors at that organization? Sure. But that doesn’t make it a news organization, that doesn’t make it a journalism endeavor.”

“I think you often say there’s a difference between the news side and the opinion side,” Zucker added. “I think that I don’t see it that way, and I know that you report it that way a lot. I think you’re wrong.”

Not stopping there, Zucker claimed that Fox is “akin to state-run TV.”

“I think it’s morphed into conspiracy TV… I dont think it’s a journalistic organization,” Zucker said of Fox.

Smith shocked everyone when he abruptly left Fox seemingly out of nowhere earlier this month.

“The opportunities afforded this guy from small-town Mississippi have been many,” Smith said as he announced his departure on live television.  “Recently I asked the company to allow me to leave Fox News and begin a new chapter. After requesting that I stay, they graciously obliged.”

In a stunning announcement, Shepard Smith announced on his Friday show that after more than two decades at Fox News, he was stepping down as chief news anchor, and leaving the network https://t.co/NGVY3fRlVy

— CNN (@CNN) October 11, 2019

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to report the news each day to our loyal audience in context and with perspective, without fear or favor,” he continued. “I’ve worked with the most talented, dedicated and focused professionals I’ve ever known. They sacrifice endlessly and tirelessly  … and I’m honored to have anchored their work each day — I will deeply miss them.”