Following their being found liable for defamation in January, CNN proclaimed in a statement that they “will of course take what useful lessons we can from this case.” But during Monday’s edition of The Lead, host Jake Tapper once again found himself embroiled in controversy when he refused to strongly push back on Democratic Senator Chris Murphy (CT) after he peddled the long-debunked hoax that billionaire Elon Musk did the “heil Hitler salute,” and other conspiracy theories.
Near the end of their interview, and while contorting his face into all manner of angry expressions, Murphy went on an unhinged rant against Musk and asserted that he had “amplified vicious anti-Semitic information on Twitter, who gave the heil Hitler salute on Inauguration Day.”
“It seems to be standard that the qualification to serve in the Trump administration is affection for racist and misogynist philosophy,” Murphy added. “So, this guy is dangerous but there seems to be people like him being peppered throughout Trump's government.”
The claim that Musk had done the “heil Hitler salute” was one of the first hoaxed of the second Trump presidency peddled by the liberal media. Those living in reality, who weren’t bad faith actors, and who wanted to be honest with the American people, would admit that Musk was telling his crowd that his heart went out to them and he figuratively threw his heart to them. Of course, Tapper was none of those things.
Tapper refused to explain the truth of what Musk had done. Instead, he tried to hide behind how Musk had not tried to explain the gesture to those trying to smear him:
Just for whatever it's worth, the Trump team says that wasn't a heil Hitler salute, but we have not – I don't think we've heard from Elon Musk on what exactly it was. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, thanks for your time.
Shortly before allowing Murphy’s lies to go essentially unchallenged in any meaningful way, Tapper teed up the Connecticut Democrat to spew conspiracy theories that Musk was going to steal Americans’ Social Security checks and personal information:
Elon Musk and his aides are have gotten access to critical government computer systems, including the one at the Treasury Department that writes the checks appropriated by Congress for the U.S. checks to federal government employees, checks for Social Security recipients. Et cetera. Do you have an issue with that?
“First of all, every American needs to know that your information, your personal tax records have been potentially compromised, that unelected billionaires and his Silicon Valley right-wing friends may have access to all of your personal information,” Murphy bloviated.
Murphy went on to fear monger that Musk was going to cut of the Social Security checks to those who didn’t support him:
They say they're just, you know, sorting through all of government spending to make sure that it doesn't contain funding for woke ideologies. That is just fancy talk to say ‘we're going to give money to people who pledge loyalty to Donald Trump, and we're not going to give money to people who don't pledge loyalty to Donald Trump.’ Today it may be government contracts, but tomorrow it may be your tax refund.
At no point did Tapper push back on the lies and conspiracy theories. If Murphy had been a Republican, Tapper would have been swift to react, much like last week when White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller noted that most of the federal bureaucracy supported then-Vice President Kamala Harris and Tapper shot back saying: “I don't know that to be a fact.”
Apparently, Tapper doesn’t know much of anything. During his defamation deposition, Tapper claimed he didn’t know what his title was. He also seemingly lied about not paying attention to the ratings of his shows. What he does know is that we have “no reason to doubt” what Hamas says.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CNN’s The Lead
February 3, 2025
4:22:36 p.m. Eastern(…)
JAKE TAPPER: Elon Musk and his aides are have gotten access to critical government computer systems, including the one at the Treasury Department that writes the checks appropriated by Congress for the U.S. checks to federal government employees, checks for Social Security recipients. Et cetera. Do you have an issue with that?
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Of course I do. First of all, every American needs to know that your information, your personal tax records have been potentially compromised, that unelected billionaires and his Silicon Valley right-wing friends may have access to all of your personal information.
And all of this seems to be in service of taking control of the federal government and using the resources of the federal government to reward Trump's friends and Musk's friends, and to punish their enemies. At least to punish people who don't line up with the political priorities of the administration.
They say they're just, you know, sorting through all of government spending to make sure that it doesn't contain funding for woke ideologies. That is just fancy talk to say ‘we're going to give money to people who pledge loyalty to Donald Trump, and we're not going to give money to people who don't pledge loyalty to Donald Trump.’ Today it may be government contracts, but tomorrow it may be your tax refund.
So, I just think this is a super dangerous moment that doesn't just impact government that doesn't just impact government contractors, that now may impact ordinary Americans. And I think you're seeing this weekend and today, folks, realizing the scope of this crisis, and you're starting to see the American public really speak out and speak up.
(…)
4:25:16 p.m. Eastern
MURPHY: They don't seem super different than Elon Musk, who has amplified vicious anti-Semitic information on Twitter, who gave the heil Hitler salute on Inauguration Day. It seems to be standard that the qualification to serve in the Trump administration is affection for racist and misogynist philosophy. So, this guy is dangerous but there seems to be people like him being peppered throughout Trump's government.
TAPPER: Just for whatever it's worth, the Trump team says that wasn't a heil Hitler salute, but we have not – I don't think we've heard from Elon Musk on what exactly it was. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, thanks for your time.
(…)
