CNN Anchor Jake Tapper Condemns Robert F. Kennedy Jr. For His ‘Misleading’ Campaign Ad

CNN anchor Jake Tapper slammed independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for airing a campaign ad that featured out-of-context comments from Tapper and other anchors.

The ad, which aired last week and has since been taken down, alters footage from news broadcasts, thereby inaccurately portraying the event.

It includes anchors from CNN and a few other networks, combining them to make it appear that comments particularly allude to Kennedy’s candidacy, even though he had not been the subject of those reports.

It was edited to show cable news hosts like Tapper, CNN journalist Dana Bash, MSNBC host Joy Reid and others declaring that Democrats are siding with Kennedy and praising him as somebody who knows how to eliminate corruption and even lead.

In the ad, the CNN anchor says that “panic has set in across the country as Democrats are shocked by a startling revelation following Thursday night’s debate” while claiming that President “Joe Biden is not fit for candidacy.”

Bash and CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer were shown presenting reporting that Democratic operatives and donors are worried about Biden’s candidacy. 

While other network hosts were featured, most segments originated from CNN.

“Sources are saying Democrats are starting to rally around who they believe might be their only legitimate chance at beating the former president,” the political commentator Anderson Cooper says. 

“He knows how to work across the aisle,” Bash had been shown saying. “He knows how to weed out corruption.”

“He says he knows how to deal with Ukraine on day one of his presidency,” Tapper also mentioned. 

Blitzer was also displayed, saying that Kennedy mentioned “he will close the border as soon as he takes office.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” Bash stated. 

“This is so misleading and deceptive it should be taken down at once,” Tapper wrote on X. “The quotes are falsely clipped together.”

Back in July 2023, Tapper slammed Kennedy for recalling a “wild and false” story about an interaction they had in 2005. The story was told in an interview that the candidate conducted on Jordan Peterson’s podcast in June 2023. 

Kennedy claimed that he and Tapper worked together for three weeks on a documentary, which had been axed, condemning vaccines while the anchor had been working for ABC News. 

Tapper criticized Kennedy for this story and the other claims in a CNN column, declaring that this proves “how untethered [Kennedy] is to facts.”

Kennedy also received backlash in early July for announcing in a statement released on July that, as an official part of his campaign platform, he would not “take sides” on the September 11, 2001 attacks.