CNN‘s Jake Tapper is getting some serious backlash today after he allowed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to repeatedly tell lies about President Donald Trump on live television, uncorrected, later admitting he knew she was being dishonest.
While appearing on CNN‘s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez continued to spread the lie that President Trump referred to the coronavirus outbreak as a “hoax,” when in reality he had only called Democrats’ politicization of the pandemic a “hoax.”
“We’re hearing it every step of the way from this administration,” she said. “First, we were hearing it was a hoax. Then we were hearing that everything was fine. Then we were hearing that the fundamentals of the economy was OK until the crash comes. And we cannot wait until people start really dying in large numbers to start production.”
AOC just repeated the lie that President Trump called coronavirus a “hoax.”
This is not true, and has been debunked by numerous fact checking sources.
This would’ve been a great time for a fact check, @jaketapper… https://t.co/Ps1hItAKGA pic.twitter.com/X8qQEwMthF
— Abigail Marone (Text EMPOWER to 88022) (@abigailmarone) March 22, 2020
After being called out for not fact-checking Ocasio-Cortez by Trump campaign staffer Abigail Marone, Tapper dug his hole even deeper when he admitted that he knew she was lying, yet chose not to correct her.
“I thought about it, because the president did not call the virus a hoax,” Tapper said. “But i didn’t because he *did* call a hoax the concerns of those saying that the response from the president was insufficient and that he was downplaying the gravity of the crisis. And that too was a lie.”
“I guess that’s the problem with a politician who lies so often; while I agree that Democrats are mischaracterizing what he said, what he did say was also false so it’s tough to justify taking the time for a fact check when it’s not taking a stand defining the truth,” the CNN host added.
I thought about it, because the president did not call the virus a hoax.
But i didn’t because he *did* call a hoax the concerns of those saying that the response from the president was insufficient and that he was downplaying the gravity of the crisis. And that too was a lie. https://t.co/MdPeulQpZ1
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 22, 2020
Social media users quickly let Tapper know that his justification for what happened only made things worse:
“You know it was a lie, but Trump has said stuff so I’m going to let her lie stand.” pic.twitter.com/AGHMCM68Ce
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 22, 2020
“I knew I was letting her lie, but I just let her lie anyways without stopping her. I’m a great journalist guys.”
— Shem Horne (@Shem_Infinite) March 22, 2020
I knew she lied but oh well. Got it.
— Kambree (@KamVTV) March 22, 2020
Once again, CNN is showing their blatant hypocrisy, especially when it comes to all-things Trump. They claim to be all about truth and fact-checking, but all of that goes out the window when someone is using lies to attack Trump. In that case, CNN will let their guests tell whatever outlandish lies they want, as long as it will make Trump look bad. This serves as a reminder that Trump has been right all along: CNN really is fake news.
This piece was written by PoliZette Staff on March 23, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
Read more at LifeZette:
Chelsea Clinton unravels: blasts Trump and Senate Republicans over coronavirus response
Trump smacks down Mayor de Blasio after he accuses him of betraying New York: ‘I’m not dealing with him’
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow wants President Trump off the air