CNN’s Jake Tapper claimed in a recent interview that “election lies” are comparable to conspiracy theories, like Holocaust denial, and that he is not a “liberal Democrat.”
The story: the CNN anchor made the comments in an interview with Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery. During their conversation, Tapper discussed the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, and claims about election fraud, including that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, among other topics.
In detail: When asked about the “Big Lie,” referring to claims of election fraud, Tapper told Jeffery that he avoids booking Republicans on his show who insist that voter fraud was the reason that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
Tapper explained that this is not a rule or a policy that he might change his stance in the future.
“If one of them wanted to come on the show, I would talk about it with my team. I would want to talk about the election lies, not just as a throwaway at the end, but as a focus,” Tapper said.
He then said lies about the election are compatible with conspiracy theories like Holocaust denial or claims that the moon landing was staged.
“I think it’s important to book conservatives. But the election lies are not different about tax policy. It’s not a disagreement about a social issue. The election lies are lies. It’s no less a lie than saying that the moon landing was faked or that the Holocaust didn’t happen, or that Bush knew about 9/11 and let it happen. These are offensive ideas,” he said.
Regarding the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, the CNN anchor said, “the truth is, we’re lucky that more people didn’t die.”
He added that it is “incredibly derelict for journalists just to pick up and move on. I feel really uncomfortable about the idea of just letting these folks walk away from this as if what happened January 6 didn’t happen as if they played no role.”
“Look, I’m not a liberal Democrat. I’m not advocating that Joe Biden be reelected,” Tapper said. “I just think it’s important that these very nefarious lies be called out.”
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