Appearing on NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers on Wednesday, CNN anchor Jake Tapper smeared all Republicans as believing “lying and indecency is the ticket to success,” while he hailed Democrats in the Biden administration for supposedly being “professionals” and “adults.” His declarations came on the same day that President Biden childishly called his political opponents “neanderthals.”
“So, we talked many times – you were on the show many times as a guest during the Trump era, this is your first time during the Biden presidency. How has – how have things changed for you so far?,” Meyers wondered at the top of the interview. Tapper replied by predictably attacking former President Trump and attempting to smear all Republicans:
Well, it’s – we’re still dealing with things that Trump left in his wake, right? The failures of his presidency, the pandemic still raging out of control, although there’s a light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines. And then, of course, the January 6th insurrection, the MAGA terrorist attack. So I wouldn’t say it’s over yet. And you know, we also have his legacy, what he’s done to a once-great political party, the Republican Party, where, now a bunch of them think that lying and indecency is the ticket to success.
Just minutes after Tapper unleashed that tirade on the GOP, Meyers again teed him up to compare the Trump and Biden administrations: “What about the reaction to reporting, is it any different?...Have you felt the same level of push-back from the Biden administration, or is it different?”
This time, Tapper sang the praises of Democrats:
Not from the administration, I think that they’re professionals. I mean, I think that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for example – I think that he understands the role of journalists, and I think that he’s not going to personally attack me, or President Biden’s not going to personally attack me. I certainly don’t fear that Biden’s gonna, you know, send me some mean tweets. I mean, I think they’re adults.
Earlier on Wednesday, Biden showed his alleged professionalism by claiming Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi were engaged in “neanderthal thinking” for easing COVID restrictions in their states. Just two weeks ago, the White House was forced to fire one of its “adults,” after deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo’s sexist attempt to intimidate a female reporter.
Tapper did mention that left-wing activists on Twitter have been “outspoken in their views of me criticizing either Biden or Governor Cuomo – they don’t like it.” He went so far as to claim: “You know, for eight years under Obama, I was a neoconservative right-wing hack. Then I was a Trump-hater. I mean, so it’s just part of the job.”
Denouncing Republicans while complimenting Democrats certainly makes it look like Tapper’s choosing one side over the other.
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Here is a transcript of the Wednesday exchange between Tapper and Meyers, aired early Thursday morning, March 4:
1:01 AM ET
SETH MEYERS: Our first guest tonight is CNN’s chief Washington correspondent, he hosts The Lead weekday afternoons, as well as the network’s Sunday show, State of the Union. Please welcome back to the show, our friend, Jake Tapper. How are you, Jake?
JAKE TAPPER: Hey, Seth how you doing, buddy?
MEYERS: Good. So, we talked many times – you were on the show many times as a guest during the Trump era, this is your first time during the Biden presidency. How has – how have things changed for you so far?
TAPPER: Well, it’s – we’re still dealing with things that Trump left in his wake, right? The failures of his presidency, the pandemic still raging out of control, although there’s a light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines. And then, of course, the January 6th insurrection, the MAGA terrorist attack. So I wouldn’t say it’s over yet. And you know, we also have his legacy, what he’s done to a once-great political party, the Republican Party, where, now a bunch of them think that lying and indecency is the ticket to success. So, he’s gone, and I’m not – you know, I don’t have to pick up my phone and read tweets with the same kind of level of dread that I used to have to before, but he’s still – his presence is very much with us.
(...)
MEYERS: What about the reaction to reporting, is it any different? Because, obviously, any administration is going to take issue with the way they’re covered. Have you felt the same level of push-back from the Biden administration, or is it different?
TAPPER: Not from the administration, I think that they’re professionals. I mean, I think that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for example – I think that he understands the role of journalists, and I think that he’s not going to personally attack me, or President Biden’s not going to personally attack me. I certainly don’t fear that Biden’s gonna, you know, send me some mean tweets. I mean, I think they’re adults. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to criticize them or their actions when I think it’s called for.
Now, the left on social media, Democrats on social media, are, you know, outspoken in their views of me criticizing either Biden or Governor Cuomo – they don’t like it. And I’ve been told that some of them are going to unfollow me, because they – you know, I guess they liked what I did before, they don’t like it now. It’s okay. I mean, like I’ve said, I’ve been through this a few times now. You know, for eight years under Obama, I was a neoconservative right-wing hack. Then I was a Trump-hater. I mean, so it’s just part of the job.
(...)
