'Fake outrage to gin up ratings': Critics say Tapper's book is 'everything wrong with the media'
Jake Tapper on CNN (screengrab)
CNN anchor Jake Tapper is being criticized over the information he supposedly had about former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity before the 2024 election as he promotes his new book about the former president’s decline.
Some commentators have argued that talking about President Donald Trump's actions and their impact is more important than discussing Biden's cognitive health during his presidency.
Political commentator Tristan Snell wrote on the social platform X: "Dear Jake Tapper, No, the original sin was JANUARY 6 — and not convicting Trump immediately after. Anything else is fake outrage to gin up ratings and book sales."
Journalist Jeremy Fassler shared a Breaker Media story about Tapper's alleged feud with the Biden family and wrote: "According to this interview, Jake Tapper harassed Hunter Biden for a scoop while Beau was dying, and apparently lacks the humility to reflect on how his behavior during that traumatic time might have led the family not to trust him."
"When is Jake Tapper gonna mention Trump's tariffs on the country of Mattel?" wrote a user.
Political strategist Chris D. Jackson wrote: "Jake Tapper in 2020: "You have absolutely no standing to diagnose someone's cognitive decline...I would think someone in the Trump family would be more sensitive to people who do not have medical licenses diagnosing politicians from afar." Jake Tapper now: I’ve got a book to sell, so I’ll gladly play armchair neurologist—facts and basic decency be damned. Amazing what a paycheck can do to someone’s integrity."
Sharing a post that highlighted Tapper's statement about former President Barack Obama calling other Democratic presidential candidates and encouraging them to get behind Biden, writer Matthew Ellis said: "You used to be called a conspiracy theorist if you suggested this, now Jake Tapper can say it straight up as long as Biden can be the scapegoat."
Political commentator S.E. Cupp pushed back on the idea that Biden's cognitive decline is "old news." She wrote: "You can be mad at 'The Book' bc you’d rather be talking about how bad Trump is. I get it. But just know, every attack on journalism makes Trump stronger. This is exactly what he wants, it’s by design. Like every Authoritarian, he wants to be the only trusted source. So you can feed him, or you can thwart him. Seeing a lot on the left feeding him right now."
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Meanwhile, supporters of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement have also criticized Tapper for "parroting the accusations he shot down."
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleishcher, who served in former President George W. Bush's administration, wrote: "I can’t and I won’t read Jake Tapper’s book about former President Biden’s mental decline and its cover up by the WH. It’s a giant pile of hypocrisy, coming from an author who routinely demeaned GOP guests who raised alarms about Biden’s health."
"Tapper, more than most reporters, shut down accurate allegations about Biden in a condescending, Tapper-knows-best, how dare you way. Jake never displayed a good reporter’s curiosity or open-mindedness about the allegations. Instead, he played the role of a partisan Biden guard dog. Now he will make money by parroting the accusations he shot down. The episode is everything wrong with the media today," Fleischer added.
Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly said to Tapper during a recent podcast: “You tried to humiliate Lara Trump for saying Biden was in decline… but she was RIGHT. And now you admit it in your own book.
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