CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who conducted a tense and confrontational interview with White House adviser Kellyanne Conway this week, defended his network’s coverage of the Trump administration.
In an interview Wednesday night on CBS’ “The Late Show,” Tapper said President Trump and his White House are getting the coverage they deserve.
Asked by host Stephen Colbert if he felt coverage of Trump should have changed since the campaign, Tapper said no.
“I think that our coverage follows his lead,” he said. “And I think that if he pivoted as he claimed he would and was more presidential — he didn’t send out nasty tweets about Nordstrom or judges or go to the National Prayer Breakfast and talk about how bad Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ratings are — I would be delighted, frankly, to cover the policies more.”
Tapper also said he doesn’t think anyone at CNN “cares” if Trump doesn’t like the channel’s coverage.
Since he was elected, Trump has responded to critical coverage from CNN by calling the network “fake news.”
On Tuesday, Tapper asked Conway if she agreed that CNN is “fake news.”
“I don’t think CNN is fake news,” she said. “I think there are some reports everywhere, in print, on TV, on radio, in conversation, that are not well-researched and are sometimes based on falsehoods.”
