Jake Tapper has the perfect one-word response to Trump chief strategist's press threat

Jake Tapper on Steve Bannon threat: Uh, no.
(Image credit: Twitter/@CNN)

President Trump is pretty openly at war with the news media — "I have a running war with the media, they are among the most dishonest human beings on Earth," he said at CIA headquarters — and it's pretty clear he and his advisers think they are winning. "The elite media got it dead wrong," Trump chief strategist Stephen Bannon told The New York Times on Thursday, referring to the widespread belief, based on polls, that Trump would lose the election. That was "a humiliating defeat that they will never wash away, that will always be there," he added. "The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile."

How seriously the news media should take this open declaration of war on the press and the facts they rely on, and the motive behind this battle, are a matter of discussion, but on CNN Thursday afternoon, Jake Tapper had an easy, short response to Bannon's taunt.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

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.