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)

last updated 27 January 2017

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.

Maybe that's why Trump isn't a big fan of CNN. On Fox News Thursday night, Sean Hannity told Trump, "I said journalism is dead. So we agree." Trump, the voice of reason, said journalism is "never dead," just filled with "very dishonest people, in many cases." Who he is at war with.

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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.