What To Know
- CNN viewers slammed Jake Tapper for ‘pandering’ to President Trump during a phone interview about Senator Lindsey Graham’s death.
- Tapper was accused of capitulating to Trump and not showing the same energy he had against former President Biden.
- The incident fueled further concerns that CNN may be shifting its editorial stance to be more favorable toward Trump.
Jake Tapper has been slammed by CNN viewers for “pandering” to Donald Trump during the president’s phone-in on Sunday’s (July 12) State of the Union.
Trump called into the show to talk about the death of Lindsey Graham, the U.S. Senator who died after a “brief and sudden illness” on the evening of July 11. During the call, Tapper tried to touch on the ongoing conflict with Iran, asking the president whether it’s true that Iran has “declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.”
“It’s open as far as we’re concerned,” Trump responded before telling Tapper, “Don’t talk about it. Talk about the reason that you asked me to speak.”
Tapper fell in line, saying, “Well, I know you don’t want to talk about any other issues out of respect for Lindsey Graham, but we would love to have you back sometime because I do have a lot of other questions for you, sir.”
“Sure, we’ll do that. We’ll do that,” Trump responded.
“Thank you for calling,” Tapper replied.
TAPPER: I know you don’t want to talk about any other issues out of respect for Lindsey Graham, but we would love to have you back sometime, because I do have a lot of other questions for you
TRUMP: Sure. We’re trying to have CNN go on a normal path
TAPPER: Well I’m on a normal… pic.twitter.com/QALOqHMQIe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 12, 2026
Trump then added, “Sure. We’re trying to have CNN go on a normal path. And we’ll do that.”
“Well, I’m on a normal path right here, sir,” Tapper answered, ignoring the criticism of his network.
“Good. You are,” Trump responded as the call concluded.
After clips of the segment were shared on social media, many viewers blasted Tapper for how he handled the call.
“Jake’s a pathetic sycophant. What a weasel,” wrote one X user.
“CNN’s Jake Tapper PANDERS to Trump and says he won’t ask him any questions beyond the subject of Lindsey Graham… Shameful,” said another.
“Tapper will go down in history as an enabler of the most corrupt and incompetent president in U.S. history. What a joke of a journalist. ‘I’m doing good, right, sir?’” another added.
This isn’t journalism, folks.
This is straight up, bending over, complete capitulation.
The guy who badgered Biden, who wrote a whole nasty book about him, said to trump “Well I’m on a normal path right here, sir.”
Fuck you, @jaketapper.🖕🏽 pic.twitter.com/QBgZUeDVQJ
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) July 12, 2026
Another wrote, “This isn’t journalism, folks. This is straight up, bending over, complete capitulation.”
“Journalism! This is tough to watch. But hey can’t make things awkward at the White House Correspondents Dinner, right?” said one viewer.
“Good morning and Happy Monday to everyone who wonders where was all that feisty energy Jake Tapper threw at Biden, while trump basically told him to kneel and he said “yes sir?” Phony, punk ass b***h,” wrote another.
“God Jake Tapper is so pathetic,” added another.
One user said, “Hey. @jaketapper, you scared? Seems so. Funny, you didn’t have to fear the president when he was Joe Biden, huh? You really went full at that guy. Maybe you can address that on your show & even things up for grovelling to Trump, you know, like an apology.”
Trump’s comments come amid Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which not only includes the WBD studios but also the linear networks, including CNN. Critics fear the network will become more MAGA-friendly to appease the president, who has said he wants to see changes made at CNN.
State of the Union, Sundays, 9am/8 c, CNN