Jake Tapper

Stunned CNN Reporter: VA Wait-List Scandal Exists, 'Doesn't Have to Be Studied'
By Tom Blumer | May 22, 2014 | 10:11 AM EDT

In discussing President Obama's Wednesday press conference on the Veterans Administration wait-list scandal, CNN's Drew Griffin, identified by the network's Jake Tapper as "the reporter who began this whole story with his investigation into the Phoenix VA," appeared to barely contain himself as he described the "disconnect between what's happening out here in the country and what the president is talking about."

Specifically, Griffin asserted that "this problem is real; it exists; it really doesn't have to be studied," and that "the vets I've been talking to wanted much more direct action." Griffin clearly expected a far more substantive and immediate response from Obama yesterday, and was disappointed that it didn't come. The video segment (via the Washington Free Beacon), a transcript, and Rush Limbaugh's insightful reaction follow the jump (bolds are mine throughout this post):

Journalist: 9/11 Truther Movement Fruit of 'Right-wing Fringe Talk'; Most Famous Truthers Are Leftists
By Connor Williams | May 20, 2014 | 12:35 PM EDT

Emily Bazelon apparently has found the opening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum in lower Manhattan as a perfect excuse to suggest that conservatives are particularly prone – compared to other Americans –  to buy into the absurd conspiracy theories of the so-called 9/11 Truther movement. But the most prominent of 9/11 Truthers in the national spotlight are celebrities and media personalities whose politics are left of center, including a co-host of CNN’s Crossfire.

The Slate senior editor made the pronouncement on the May 19 edition of The Lead with Jake Tapper, after Tapper asked her if there was a great deal of scapegoating involved with the Truther conspiracy [Click here for MP3 audio; Video below]:

Jake Tapper Explodes at WH Chief of Staff: 'How Many Dead Veterans Do You Need?'
By P.J. Gladnick | May 15, 2014 | 8:43 PM EDT

Today White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough kept defending the record of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinkseki over his handling of the Veterans Administration hospitals scandal on CNN's The Lead. Finally an increasingly agitated Jake Tapper grew frustrated with the excuses until he exploded in anger: "How Many Dead Veterans Do You Need?"

It was an all too familiar administration two-step but the normally mild-mannered Tapper wasn't going to have any of it. In the dramatic video below the jump, you can see a clearly  upset Tapper finally lash out at McDonough.

CNN’s Tapper: Jay Carney Has Been ‘Dissembling,’ ‘Obfuscating,’ ‘Insulting’ on Benghazi
By Paul Bremmer | May 2, 2014 | 11:34 AM EDT

CNN’s Jake Tapper had some strong words for White House press secretary Jay Carney on Thursday. Appearing on The Hugh Hewitt Show, Tapper accused Carney of making “dissembling, obfuscating,” and “insulting” comments regarding the September 2012 Benghazi attacks.

Hewitt came right out and called Carney a liar, but Tapper was not willing to go quite that far. He remarked, “[C]alling somebody a liar is – it’s not normally the kind of language I use. But I think that the comments that are being made are dissembling, obfuscating, and often, you know, insulting.” [Listen to MP3 audio here.]

Networks Ignore Democrat Congressman Calling Clarence Thomas an 'Uncle Tom'
By Matt Hadro | April 30, 2014 | 10:07 PM EDT

CNN's Jake Tapper gave a full segment to Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson calling Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas an "Uncle Tom," but the broadcast networks completely ignored the controversy on Wednesday evening.

The networks' blackout of a Democrat using a racial insult against a Justice shows a clear double standard after their deluge of coverage of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks about his players. And just last week, the networks highlighted Republicans and conservatives who supported rancher Cliven Bundy's stand against the federal authorities but who had to backtrack after Bundy's racist rant went public.

CNN's Tapper Spotlights Democratic Rep. Thompson's 'Uncle Tom' Blast at Clarence Thomas
By Matthew Balan | April 30, 2014 | 7:41 PM EDT

On Wednesday, Jake Tapper set aside a full segment on his CNN program to Rep. Bennie Thompson's "Uncle Tom" insult of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Tapper spotlighted the "racially-charged" and controversial" remarks, where the Mississippi Democrat also denigrated Senator Mitch McConnell and opponents of ObamaCare in general as "racists."

The anchor turned to correspondent Dana Bash, who pursued Rep. Thompson about his attack on the prominent official. Bash reported that the liberal politician "doubled down" in particular on his inflammatory labeling of Justice Thomas: [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]

Jonah Goldberg: Media Herd Stampedes To Expose 'True, Feral Nature of Conservatives'
By Tim Graham | April 25, 2014 | 1:20 PM EDT

In his “Happy Warrior” column in the April 21 National Review, Jonah Goldberg reports on how “Press Shows Bias.” In this case, it’s the case of California state Sen. Leland Yee, whose remarkable attempts to smuggle guns and even missile-launchers went mostly ignored in the national media.

The most notable omitter was CNN, which tweeted it covers state officials “just about never.” (On April 11, CNN anchor Jake Tapper proved the exception to the rule: “This week, Yee pleaded not guilty to charges that are stunning in their reach and, if true, hypocrisy.” A full report by Jason Carroll followed.)  Goldberg’s column mocked the old cliche of covering “man bites dog” stories:

Mea Culpa! 'Newsroom' Creator Aaron Sorkin Confesses He Knows Nothing About Politics or Journalism
By Tim Graham | April 23, 2014 | 6:55 AM EDT

When Aaron Sorkin’s leftist series “The Newsroom” debuted on HBO in 2012, then-ABC reporter Jake Tapper trashed it in The New Republic, writing “though “The Newsroom” intends to lecture its viewers on the higher virtues of capital-J journalism, Professor Sorkin soon reveals he isn’t much of an expert on the subject.”

Via Buzzfeed, we learned that on Monday at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, Sorkin admitted in an interview with former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau that Tapper was right, he’s not an expert, and he's not sophisticated on politics or journalism:

Other Top Journalists Tell Jake Tapper That Hillary's 2008 Campaign Played Rough With Liberal Media
By Tim Graham | April 4, 2014 | 9:37 AM EDT

On Friday morning, CNN host Jake Tapper tweeted “On Hillary Clinton's assertion of media double standard, strongest complaints by her campaign in 2008 were against pro-Obama male journos”.

MRC's Dan Gainor alerted me that the responses from other national journalists about Hillary Clinton’s treatment of the press in the ‘08 cycle were surprising. Perhaps this should be a segment on Tapper's show where we can all learn more before 2016:

Jake Tapper Won’t Dismiss Any 2016 GOP Contenders... Except Joe Scarborough
By Paul Bremmer | March 12, 2014 | 12:58 PM EDT

CNN anchor Jake Tapper went on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show Tuesday, and naturally the 2016 presidential race came up as a discussion topic. Referring to the battle for the Republican nomination, Tapper proclaimed, “[I]t is a wide-open field, and there is no one, literally no one I would discount.”

The veteran political journalist then rattled off a few GOP hopefuls he would not discount – Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Rob Portman. He wouldn’t even discount New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, in spite of the current bridge controversy. But then Hewitt’s co-host, Jamie Weinstein of The Daily Caller, asked, “What about Joe Scarborough 2016?” [YouTube video embedded below the break.]

Jake Tapper Goes Easy on Bill Maher, Omits His History of Defaming Republican Women
By Matt Hadro | February 14, 2014 | 5:54 PM EST

CNN's Jake Tapper didn't ask guest Bill Maher once about his vile rhetoric against conservative women in a lengthy, two-segment interview on Friday's The Lead.

Tapper asked all soft questions of the liberal comedian who gave $1 million to President Obama's super PAC in 2012. He also brought up the Lewinsky scandal, which enabled Maher to laud Bill Clinton as "respectable" and a "great guy." This from a man who has a history of despicable vitriol against Republican women.

Jake Tapper Asks Obama If He Was 'Naive' Back In 2008
By Matt Hadro | January 31, 2014 | 4:08 PM EST

In an interview that aired on Friday, CNN's Jake Tapper asked President Obama if he was "naive" back in 2008 when he bragged that his presidency would be remembered as when "the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."

"Do you think you were naive back then, or have you recalibrated your expectations and your ambitions?" Tapper pressed Obama.