CNN anchor Jake Tapper defended Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” just hours after President Joe Biden called Doocy a “stupid son of a b****” on a hot mic.
In addition to defending Doocy, however, Tapper claimed that Fox News would never come to his defense in a similar situation — apparently forgetting that Doocy’s network had done exactly that when his colleague Jim Acosta had found himself on the wrong side of former President Donald Trump’s administration.
Jimmy Kimmel: "Fox…says…you're on Team Biden…yet, here you are, defending Peter Doocy, who…is indeed a dumb son of a bitch."
Jake Tapper: "So, I do not agree…I recognize that Peter's channel probably would never come to my defense like that, but it is what it is." pic.twitter.com/GAdURGzeaR
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 25, 2022
“Is your life boring now that Donald Trump isn’t president?” Kimmel began, and the audience laughed.
“No. The current president just called a reporter a ‘dumb son of a b****,’ that just happened today,” Tapper replied.
“He did,” Kimmel continued. “I know you don’t usually give out opinions, but that reporter, Peter Doocy — is he a dumb son of a b****?”
“I don’t think any president should be calling any journalist a ‘dumb son of a b****,’” Tapper said then, adding, “And to be fair to Peter Doocy, the question was fairly anodyne, it was just ‘will inflation —’”
Kimmel interrupted, arguing that maybe Biden hadn’t meant to call Doocy that name publicly but had only been caught on the microphone by accident.
“He was standing right in front of a microphone,” Tapper pushed back. “It wasn’t like Robert Durst confessing to murder in the bathroom, forgetting he has a mic on, it was at a press conference!”
“But wait a minute, Fox News says, you know, that you’re on Team Biden and you are a mouthpiece for the Democrats and yet, here you are, defending Peter Doocy, who as far as I have been able to tell, is indeed a dumb son of a b****,” Kimmel continued, and the audience laughed again.
“So, I do not agree with that, and I will say, standards for decency don’t have to do with whether you like the people that are being treated poorly, it just has to do with the standard. And yes, I recognize that Peter’s channel probably would never come to my defense like that, but it is what it is,” Tapper replied, noting that Biden had called Doocy to clear the air afterward.
While Tapper was not involved, “Peter’s channel” did come to the defense of his colleague — then CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta — filing an amicus brief with the court on his behalf when the Trump administration pulled his credentials and refused to allow him into the White House.
CNN even shared the statement on Twitter noting Fox News’ support and including a statement from network president Jay Wallace.
Fox News will file an amicus brief in support of @Acosta and CNN. Thank you @FoxNews! Statement from Jay Wallace below: pic.twitter.com/1EyRkho0TK
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 14, 2018
The statement read:
Fox News supports CNN in its legal effort to retain its White House reporter’s press credential. We intend to file an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court. Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponized. While we don’t condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the president and the press at recent media avails, we do support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people.
The Trump White House revoked Acosta’s credentials after an exchange during which he physically rebuffed an aide who was attempting to move the microphone to another reporter.
Then White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement immediately following the incident, saying, “President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporter’s colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. … As a result of today’s incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.”
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Source: Dailywire
