CNN’s Jake Tapper ended today’s edition of State of the Union with an editorial defending the Elitist Media’s coverage of the ongoing military operation against the Iranian regime. Tapper took exception to social media posts by President Donald Trump and former Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. In the process, he reminded us that those who live in glass houses should abstain from throwing stones.
Watch the editorial in its entirety as aired on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, March 15th, 2026:
WATCH: Jake Tapper, anchor at the network caught schmoozing with the Iranian Khomeinist regime in London, takes exception to criticism of the manner in which the U.S. military operation against the aforementioned regime has been covered by the media.
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 15, 2026
JAKE TAPPER: President Trump… pic.twitter.com/IWhbHJyqUO
JAKE TAPPER: President Trump and his allies are still frustrated with journalists for having the audacity to report on the war with Iran in ways that they do not approve of, rather than simply cheering it on. Take President Trump baselessly claiming on Truth Social that: "The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and other low-life papers and media actually want us to lose the war."
The most surprising attack on the news media, however, might have come from former Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. Now, you might think that someone who was part of an administration about whom President Trump said -- quote -- "They lied, they said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none, and they knew there were none" -- unquote -- you might think somebody like that might sit this one out.
But, no, Mr. Fleischer accused the media of constantly painting a picture of America losing when it is actually winning. And his proof was this October 2001 New York Times article about Afghanistan by the late Johnny Apple, and specifically about the risk of Afghanistan becoming a Vietnam-like quagmire, an idea that Fleischer found preposterous since key cities such as Kabul fell to the U.S. just days later.
Of course, the war didn't end after Kabul fell. Bush put boots on the ground and Afghanistan became a 20-year quagmire. Quagmire is a word that Secretary of Defense Hegseth used this week to describe it.
And, remind me, who controls Kabul right now after we beat the Taliban? The story that Fleischer disapprovingly cited concludes -- quote -- "In Afghanistan, as in South Vietnam, there is a huge question about who would rule if the United States vanquished its foe. Washington never solved that issue satisfactorily after the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963. And solving it in Afghanistan, a country long prone to chaotic competition among many tribes and factions, will probably not be much easier" -- unquote.
Every reporter that I know wants the United States to succeed in every way. And the way that reporters help that happen is by asking questions of people in power and not blindly cheering on leaders who take the nation to war.
I guess, when it comes to Ari Fleischer versus Johnny Apple, you can say that the Bush White House and its spokespeople are the ones who got it right about the war in Afghanistan. You can say that. That, of course, is not what the facts and history say.
This is some nice misdirection, as Tapper fails to mention the fact that his network’s own chief global affairs correspondent and London bureau chief were caught palling around with the Khomeinist regime at its London embassy. And he wasn’t there to cover the event. As our own Nick Fondacaro notes:
In one of the images captured by Iranian state media, Iran Press, and shared by The Telegraph, CNN London bureau chief Andrew Roy and CNN chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance can be seen meeting and shaking hands with Iran's Ambassador to the U.K., Seyed Ali Mousavi (pictured above; left to right, Mousavi, Chance, and Roy).
The CNN officials didn’t appear to be attending the event as journalists. No camera crew are visible and neither was there any form of recording equipment. No voice recorders. No note pads. No visible press credentials that would show they were there for work.
None of this made it into Tapper’s rant, which selectively targeted Trump and Fleischer for their criticisms of the sainted media. Of all the institutions ripe for criticism over Iran coverage, CNN has been the worst with its constant acritical parroting of Khomeinist propaganda.
The argument against criticism of the media sounds increasingly shrill given its visible decline and loss of credibility, which has accelerated during the Trump years. If such an argument is to be credibly made, it should be made by someone who didn’t pretend that Joe Biden’s cognitive and physical decline didn’t exist before announcing a book about it after he left office.
THIS, of course, is what the facts and history say.
