Byron York’s Daily Memo: Republicans dispute CNN’s Tapper

REPUBLICANS DISPUTE CNN’S TAPPER. A number of top GOP lawmakers say CNN anchor Jake Tapper misled listeners of a recent podcast in which he described his program’s booking practices — specifically whether the program would invite Republican lawmakers who have questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Appearing on the New York Times ‘Sway” podcast, Tapper said he would not book Republicans like Representatives Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Elise Stefanik — the party’s top leadership team in the House — or “anyone who has engaged in these lies” about the election. Tapper said he “might be willing” to allow one of the Republicans to appear on his program if “they came to me” and offered to answer questions specifically about the election.

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“This is something that I wrestle with every day,” Tapper began. Here is the exchange that followed, with podcast host Kara Swisher:

TAPPER: I have not booked, since the election, anyone who has engaged in these lies. I haven’t. It’s not a policy, but it’s a philosophy where I just don’t want to deal with that. It really saddens me, because there are Republican members of Congress whom I respect, or formerly did, and there are just too many important things to deal with right now in terms of what’s going on in the Middle East, or in Africa, or in Myanmar, or China, or Russia. And also — if you’re willing to lie about that, what else are you willing to lie about? And why should my viewers listen to you?

SWISHER: So who do you book? It’s dwindling. It’s a dwindling group of people.

TAPPER: Well, there’s about a third of the House Republican caucus that I am willing to book. I mean, I could name them to you if you want.

SWISHER: So Kevin McCarthy, no?

TAPPER: I would not book Kevin McCarthy.

SWISHER: Steve —

TAPPER: Steve Scalise — I wouldn’t. Now, if they came to me and said that they wanted to, I don’t think any of them  — Scalise or McCarthy or Stefanik — have faced a tough interview at all about it, so I might be willing to interview one of them to talk about this, to talk about their election lies and what they’re doing.  But I’m not asking for the interview, and they’re not eager to do it, no.

Few might have noticed what Tapper said, were it not for the fact that the Politico newsletter “Playbook” featured an excerpt from it Friday morning. “Playbook” also asked some other media figures for their view on booking the likes of McCarthy, Scalise, et al. Fox News’ Chris Wallace called the refusal to book top Republicans “moral posturing” — “I don’t think moral posturing goes well with news gathering,” Wallace said.

Tapper responded by accusing Wallace and Fox of being part of what he calls the “Big Lie.” “This isn’t an easy conversation for some folks — especially for journalists who work for organizations where the Big Lie was platformed,” Tapper said in a statement to Politico.

The argument might have stopped there, but for the Republicans who were the subject of Tapper’s initial remarks. Learning what he said, each reacted in roughly the same way: What’s he talking about? The Tapper show has tried to book me a bunch of times since the election.

McCarthy, the House Republican leader, has been asked to appear “several” times on Tapper’s program since the election, according to a source in McCarthy’s office.

As for Scalise, the House Republican whip, “[Tapper’s] Sunday show has asked four times since the election, and his weekday show has also reached out four times since the election,” said a source from Scalise’s office.

Stefanik took to Twitter to reveal that she, too has been asked to appear on Tapper’s program. “Jake Tapper brags about his so-called principled ‘philosophy’ not to book certain Republicans — too bad his producer begged to book us,” Stefanik tweeted. Stefanik included screenshots of Tapper producers or bookers inviting Stefanik on the show. A source in Stefanik’s office says she has received three emails from Tapper’s team since the beginning of January.

Just for good measure, Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who was not mentioned by Tapper in the podcast but would surely fall under Tapper’s booking ban, announced that he, too, had been asked to appear on Tapper’s program. “Ignore Jake Tapper’s virtue signaling,” tweeted Hawley’s press secretary Abigail Marone. “[CNN State of the Union] has asked Hawley to come on 18 TIMES since January 6.” Marone published screenshots of some invitations.

Tapper’s response has been that when he spoke on the “Sway” podcast, he did not know what his bookers had been doing. “I can’t account for every email from my excellent bookers whose job it is to present me with as many options as possible,” he tweeted in response to Stefanik. Tapper also accused the Republicans involved of lying and trafficking in conspiracy theories. “I have just refused to allow any of the Liars, such as Rep Stefanik, on air,” Tapper wrote. “Kind of stunning to see her proudly identify as a conspiracy theorist.”

Answering Marone, Tapper tweeted, “If the booker had come to me and said [Hawley] was an option I would have said no, as I have for every Election Liar.” Tapper added that he did not initially tell his staff that he would not allow some Republicans to appear. “I only started explaining to them last month the reasons behind my saying no to every Big Liar,” he wrote to Marone. “Weird to admit that your boss is an Election Liar but OK.”

Republicans are a little baffled by the whole contretemps. They had no intention of appearing on Tapper’s program anyway, some said, so this whole controversy doesn’t amount to much. “No Republicans are feeling left out” by not being invited onto Tapper’s program, one Hill Republican said.

But it’s clear that some Republicans are taking pleasure in Tapper’s embarrassment. After all, the man who talks so much about lies found himself having to explain statements that did not fit the facts of the story. But in the end, perhaps the episode doesn’t reveal much of anything beyond what Chris Wallace said: Moral posturing does not go well with news gathering.

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