Jake Tapper has been branded a “sycophant” after his very compliant behavior toward an unyielding President Donald Trump.
The president phoned in to Tapper’s State of the Union on Sunday to speak about the death of Lindsey Graham, and repeatedly refused to answer any questions about politics in the wake of South Carolina’s loss.
At the end of the interview, CNN host Tapper obliged: “Well, I know you don’t want to talk about any other issues out of respect for Lindsey Graham, but we would love to have you back sometime because I do have a lot of other questions for you, sir.”
“Sure, we’ll do that. We’ll do that,” Trump agreed, as Tapper responded: “Thank you for calling.”
The president then touched on his distaste for “fake news” CNN, and threatened: “We’re trying to have CNN go in a normal path, and we‘ll do that.”
Oddly, Tapper overlooked the criticism of his network and assured the president: “Well, I‘m on a normal path right here, sir, and I appreciate your time. And thank you for calling in.”
“Good, you are,” Trump agreed. “OK, thanks a lot.”
“Admitting they are trying to control the media,” one person noted on X.
While some people took umbrage with Trump’s comment about CNN, others were more focused on Tapper’s conduct throughout the unfruitful interview—interpreting it as supplication rather than a potential attempt to get Trump back or honor the mourning of Graham.
“Jake’s a pathetic sycophant. What a weasel,” one person said.
Another wrote: “Tapper will go down in history as an enabler of the most corrupt and incompetent president in U.S. history. What a joke of a journalist. ‘I’m doing good, right, sir?’”
A third raged: “It’s not up to the president or any elected official to direct the ‘path’ any news organization follows. If CNN is buying into this they need to close their doors, or officially merge with Fox.”
The Daily Beast reached out to CNN for comment.
Trump has been feuding with CNN for years, but Tapper hasn’t always been so pliable in the face of the president’s condemnation.
In April, Trump attacked the broadcaster in a lengthy Truth Social rant, accusing “Fake News CNN” of putting out “a knowingly false and dangerous statement pretending it came from the upper levels of the Iranian Government” amid the on-off ceasefire.
With Trump threatening official action against CNN, Tapper made it clear that he and his colleagues would not bow down to his pressure.
“Our job is not to try and please the president or only report the statements he likes. We‘re going to tell you what‘s going on, and we‘re going to keep doing that, no matter how many lies this administration or the Iranians tell,” Tapper said as part of a fiery live response.
