The Lead

Journalist: 9/11 Truther Movement Fruit of 'Right-wing Fringe Talk'; M
May 20th, 2014 12:35 PM
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…

Jake Tapper Explodes at WH Chief of Staff: 'How Many Dead Veterans Do
May 15th, 2014 8:43 PM
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…
Networks Ignore Democrat Congressman Calling Clarence Thomas an 'Uncle
April 30th, 2014 10:07 PM
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…

CNN's Tapper Spotlights Democratic Rep. Thompson's 'Uncle Tom' Blast a
April 30th, 2014 7:41 PM
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…
Jonah Goldberg: Media Herd Stampedes To Expose 'True, Feral Nature of
April 25th, 2014 1:20 PM
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…

Jake Tapper Goes Easy on Bill Maher, Omits His History of Defaming Rep
February 14th, 2014 5:54 PM
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."…

Obama's 'If You Like Your Plan You Can Keep It' Promise Named 'Lie of
December 12th, 2013 6:15 PM
Conservatives across the fruited plain are likely going to be shocked by this - and liberals extremely angered! - but the fact-checking website PolitiFact on Thursday named President Obama's "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it" promise the Lie of the Year.
Such was announced on CNN's The Lead (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Jake Tapper Gets Chummy With Pelosi; Gets Her to Bash 'Unruly' Tea Par
December 12th, 2013 6:07 PM
Jake Tapper's Thursday interview with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi started off chummy and didn't really get tough until near the end. Tapper teed her up to criticize Tea Party Republicans and critique John Boehner's Speakership on CNN's The Lead.
"Speaker Boehner has an unruly group of Tea Party Republicans," Tapper noted before serving his biggest softball. "How have you been able to…

Matt Damon: 'I'd Eat My Shoe If Jeb Could Name a Bush That Ever Even W
November 16th, 2013 2:48 PM
As NewsBusters reported, former Florida governor Jeb Bush pounded public school activist Matt Damon in August for putting his kids in private school.
Damon gave CNN's Jake Tapper a rather lame excuse for this in an online segment of their interview Friday while claiming, "I'd eat my shoe if he could name a Bush that ever even walked into a public school" (video follows with transcript and…

CNN’s Tapper Highlights Happy ObamaCare Enrollee, No Mention of Obam
November 13th, 2013 9:06 PM
On CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper today, Tapper reported on a woman who’s very happy with the way ObamaCare is working:
TAPPER: That's not a yes. Park is still working on fixes, but Tony Trenkle, the chief information officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which is running the site, resigned. The Web site does have some satisfied customers out there, such as Flora Brewer of Fort…

Doris Kearns Goodwin Denies That Media's Been Soft on Obama
November 13th, 2013 6:33 PM
On Tuesday's The Lead, liberal historian Doris Kearns Goodwin dismissed the notion that the media is in President Obama's "pocket."
"I don't think the country would feel that his way of dealing with the country has been eased by the press," she lamented of Obama and the media. "I think the press is much more complicated today. I think ever since Watergate there's a more antagonistic view…

CNN’s Jake Tapper Attends ‘Book of Jezebel’ Party
October 30th, 2013 3:56 PM
The world of the elite liberal media is a small one. Witness Jezebel founder Anna Holmes and CNN’s Jake Tapper.
The Washington Post’s Megan McDonough covered Holmes’ newly published “The Book of Jezebel,” on the Style section’s front page via her piece: “A compilation of lady things, A to Jezebel.” In the Oct. 30 article, McDonough noted the presence of CNN’s “The Lead” Host Jake Tapper at a…

Jake Tapper Acknowledges Media Bias, Says 'White House Press Briefings
October 9th, 2013 4:36 PM
One of the things many conservatives admire about CNN's Jake Tapper is his willingness to speak truths typically too inconvenient for most in his industry.
During an "Ask Me Anything" discussion on Reddit Wednesday, Tapper not only acknowledged the existence of media bias, he also said "White House press briefings are quite often useless":
CNN’s Tapper on Gosnell Interview: ‘Is He a Mad Man
September 26th, 2013 3:10 PM
The media are finally taking the hint: Kermit Gosnell is a figure worthy of attention.
CNN’s Jake Tapper interviewed Philadelphia Magazine’s Steve Volk on his in-depth correspondence with Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell. Tapper began the dialogue by probing, “so much of his case, who he is, why he did what he did, and how he got away with it for so long, well that all remains a…