'You’ve made my point': Tapper  whacks Trumper’s support on live TV

CNN anchor Jake Tapper held a Trump’s supporter’s conflicting arguments to the fire on Thursday’s episode of “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”

Once a Democratic Illinois governor with a history of supporting liberal programs, Rod J. Blagojevich was arrested in 2008 after prosecutors made the case that he schemed to sell a Senate seat being vacated by Barack Obama after his presidential election.

Blagojevich was impeached, unanimously removed from office, convicted and then jettisoned by his own party. But President Donald Trump commuted the former Democratic governor's 14-year criminal sentence for corruption after eight years.

On Thursday, Blagojevich had nothing but praise for Trump and his policies. But Tapper could not see why, considering the governor’s own contradictory liberal agenda.

“So you pride yourself on looking out for working people in your time as governor,” Tapper told the former governor. “… [O]ne of the achievements that you're proudest of is free public transportation for seniors and the disabled, and I'm wondering how that ethos matches with your support of President Trump. I understand your personal support of President Trump for getting you out of prison, but the political philosophy you had, how does that square with how Trump governs?”

“Well, I think it actually does,” said Blagojevich, who was on CNN hawking his new book. “… I was probably left of center. But I think I was practical. And when I saw an opportunity to be able to help people, I felt that was my job as governor.”

“I would say you were a social welfare Democrat,” inserted Tapper. “I'm sorry for interrupting, but if I had to characterize it, that move with the public transportation, that was like in the tradition of LBJ or FDR. And I just don't see President Trump in that light.”

But rather than argue the issue, Blagojevich launched into a list of his socialist bona fides, reminding Tapper that Illinois was the first state in American history in 2005 to give every Illinois child affordable health care and give 153,000 uninsured women access to mammograms and pap smears.

“That's my point. You're making my point,” said Tapper, looking perplexed.

“But I don't see President Trump that different,” said Blagojevich, citing Trump’s no taxes on tips or overtime, which was one of the selling points of his controversial Big Beautiful Bill that heaped more debt on the government and concentrated tax cuts to upper income brackets.

Tapper pointed out to Blagojevich, however, that Democrats claimed historic gains in the House and Senate, primarily due to their economic and social safety net messaging, while Trump was “resoundingly rejected by the electorate.”

To that, Blagojevich pointed out that he did not predict “there would be a blue wave.”

“I thought the Democrats would win the House and the Republicans would win the Senate,” Blagojevich said, “and I clearly got that wrong.”

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