CNN’s Jake Tapper uses GOP senator’s own words to corner him on government 'weaponization'

CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday cornered Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) with his own words on government “weaponization” after President Donald Trump last week directed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to “take away Harvard’s tax exempt status.”

“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status," Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. "It’s what they deserve!”

“You have long been opposed on principle to the IRS being used to punish an administration's opponents in any way,” Tapper said to Johnson on CNN's "State of the Union". "You were very outspoken about that during the Obama Administration. We would have you on all the time to talk about it. And here you are during the Biden administration at a hearing on government weaponization.”

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Tapper then played a clip of Johnson lamenting “how the Obama administration weaponized the IRS to harass Tea Party groups by by denying them tax exempt status.”

“President Trump is out in the open threatening to target Harvard, a move that the conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal says is unwise and sets a bad precedent,” Tapper said. “Do you oppose his instruction to the IRS to take away Harvard's tax exempt status?”

Johnson replied he wants to “simplify and rationalize our tax code so we really don't try and socially and economically engineer the economy through the tax code.”

"It should be simple, it should be rational, it should raise the revenue we have,” Johnson argued.

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“Right, but President Trump is out there instructing his IRS to target Harvard,” Tapper replied, noting Johnson was “very outspoken about” the issue when former President Barack Obama “targeted” conservative groups.

"I'm wondering if you are also upset at at this,” Tapper said.

“Well, in the past, people have used tax exempt status on churches and religious universities as well,” Johnson said. “Again, that's that's why I don't like our complex tax code. I don't want anybody to be using the tax code in this type of manner. And so what I’d say is: Let’s simplify the tax code. That's the solution here.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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