CNN’s Jake Tapper Makes Startling Confession About His Trump & Biden Coverage

Martin Holmes December 16, 2025, 10:18 am

What To Know

CNN anchor Jake Tapper stated he is increasing coverage of Donald Trump’s health to compensate for not scrutinizing Joe Biden’s health more thoroughly during his presidency.
Tapper emphasized that health is a legitimate concern for any president, especially those approaching 80 years old.
He cited recent examples of his reporting on Trump’s health, including questions about unexplained medical procedures and public behavior, highlighting the need for transparency.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper has said he will continue to report on President Donald Trump‘s health to make up for not asking “as many questions as we should have” about former President Joe Biden‘s declining health during his time in office.

Tapper, who earlier this year released a book about Biden’s decision to run for office again despite cognitive decline, appeared on the latest episode of Pod Save America, where he was asked his thoughts on the media’s handling of instances such as “Trump falling asleep in meetings.”

“When is it a critical mass that it becomes book-worthy?” host and former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor asked, per Mediaite.

“It’s a great question,” Tapper replied, noting that “we cover it all the time on my show, all the time.”

He explained the increased coverage on Trump’s health “is to a large degree because we saw what happened with Biden, and while we covered it, we didn’t cover it maybe… we didn’t ask as many questions as we should have at the time.”

“I think it is a legitimate question for any president of any age, but particularly anybody who is, like, in range of being an octogenarian, right?” Tapper added, referring to how Trump will turn 80 next June.

The longtime journalist also touched on the book he co-wrote with Alex Thompson, Original Sin, explaining that the focus wasn’t on Biden’s “missteps” but rather the former President’s “horrible performance at a presidential debate where his only job was to convince people he was up to the task of being President for another four years.”

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Again, Tapper clarified that when it comes to Trump’s health concerns, “I literally cover it all the time. Like literally yesterday, I covered that crazy Truth Social rant, when he was mad at the New York Times for covering his aging, and he called it sedition or treasonous.”

Tapper covered Trump’s health on last Thursday’s (December 11) edition of The Lead, questioning the White House’s explanation for the President’s bruised hands and the evasiveness about the MRI scan he underwent in October.

“Obviously, [Trump’s] 79 years old,” Tapper said on his show. “And there is something going on with his health that they’re not telling us, because otherwise, why did he have that MRI?”