Jimmy Kimmel and CNN's Jake Tapper agree: Viewers want blood, Trump at the GOP debate

Jake Tapper, Jimmy Kimmel discuss the GOP debate

(Image credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live)

last updated 16 September 2015

Jake Tapper, one of the moderators at Wednesday night's CNN debate between Republican presidential candidates, was one of Jimmy Kimmel's guests on Tuesday's Kimmel Live. He defended CNN's decision to consciously spark brawls, noting the big fight between Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.) and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) over government surveillance at the first debate on Fox News. "I saw that, and I'm, like, that's what I want," Tapper said. "Like, a lot of those moments where I'm not really playing, but they're really debating the issues that are important."

Kimmel asked if Donald Trump is, in fact, indestructible. "He defies the laws of gravity in politics," Tapper agreed. "Every time he does something, pundits in Washington say, 'Oh, that's it — he's sunk,' and he goes up five points in the polls." Kimmel and Tapper agreed that one of the reasons voters are responding positively to Trump is that he actually answers (or at least considers) questions lobbed at him.

But Tapper dodged the big questions himself: Who plays Trump in CNN's preparatory mock debates, for example? "No one you know," he said, adding that it is not, as Kimmel suggested, the Chewbacca impersonator out on Hollywood Boulevard but "a very smart and charming gentleman we have working at CNN." He punted when Kimmel asked him if he thinks Hillary Clinton is boring, and hesitated when Kimmel asked if it would be a huge personal success if one candidate punched another at the debate. "We want to see wrestling," Kimmel said, "we want to see people fighting." Tapper didn't disagree. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.