Watch: New ‘CBS Evening News’ Anchor Struggles Through Awkward Gaffes in Debut Broadcast

Conservative News DailyJanuary 6, 2026

Tony Dokoupil’s first regularly scheduled night as anchor of CBS Evening News was marred by on-air slips and apparent teleprompter trouble. He had earlier appeared unscheduled after the raid capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and offered a broad take on foreign influence in Venezuela. During Monday’s broadcast he stumbled over phrasing, fumbled transitions between stories (even asking whether to go to different reporters), and mistakenly called Minnesota the “Great Lake State.” Clips of the gaffes circulated on social media and the errors were removed from the program’s YouTube posting. Before taking the chair, Dokoupil had pledged to change the show’s approach – prioritizing ordinary Americans, speaking plainly about what he knows, and news/joy-behar-tells-studio-audience-to-boo-ron-desantis-whoopi-calls-him-a-batman-villain/” title=”Joy Behar encourages audience to boo Ron DeSantis, while Whoopi likens him to a 'Batman' villain.”>holding public figures

to account – a message that contrasts wiht the rocky debut.

Perfection floated out of reach for “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil on Monday during his first regularly scheduled night in his new role.

Dokoupil had made an unscheduled appearance Saturday in response to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, but stepped into his new role Monday evening, according to Mediaite.

He was offering a perspective on the ramifications of the raid that captured Maduro.

“What is actually about?” he said, “Well, if you zoom out a bit, you can maybe see the outlines of an answer. For decades, Russia, China, and Iran have been building a presence in Venezuela, a base of power and influence in the hemisphere. With Maduro now out, that base of power and influence could be out too.”

Then came a couple of on-air potholes, apparently worsened by technical issues with his teleprompter.

CBS’ new guy. I think we’re good here. pic.twitter.com/EIssvBwrzM

— Boston Radio Watch®️ (@bostonradio) January 5, 2026

“All right, to other news,” he said according to a video posted to X.

“As you just heard from Jill, well, to other news now. Uh, to Governor Walz. No, we’re gonna do Mark Kelly. First day, first day, big problems here. Uh, are we going to Kelly here or are we gonna go to Jonah Kaplan?” he said.

A few seconds of silence followed.

“We’re doing Mark Kelly,” he said.

“Possibly demoted from his rank of captain in the Navy. Hegseth issued what’s known as a letter a censure for the Arizona democrat over his participation in the video, they called on service members to defy illegal orders without specifying which orders he had in mind,” he continued.

Dokoupil also later referred to Minnesota as the Great Lake State, which is the official nickname for Michigan, according to USA Today.

The mistakes were removed from the version of “CBS Evening News” posted to YouTube.

As noted by Fox News, before taking to the air, Dokoupil had said “CBS Evening News” would be changing with him as its host.

“The point is that, on too many stories, the press has missed the story,” he said. “Because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites and not enough on you.”

“I have felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the news didn’t reflect what I was seeing and hearing in my own life,” he said, according to Entertainment Weekly.

“So, here’s my promise to you, today and every time you see me in this chair: you come first,” Dokoupil said. “Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests. And, yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you.”

“I tell you what I know, when I know it, and how I know it. And when I get it wrong, I’ll tell you that, too. It also means I’m going to talk to everybody, and hold everyone in public life to the very same standard,” he added.