As a Journalist Jake Tapper Has to Remain Unbiased — But Is He a Democrat?

When it comes to politics, figuring out where a journalist falls can sometimes be pretty easy. Obviously, they are supposed to be unbiased, or as some claim, "fair and balanced," but reigning that in can be difficult. While we can safely assume who someone like Megyn Kelly or Tucker Carlson voted for, some reporters remain a mystery. Despite there being a ton of context clues, such as where they work, a good correspondent keeps their cards close to their chest.

Take CNN's Jake Tapper, who has been with the network since January 2013 as the host of The Lead With Jake Tapper. According to Harvard Library's media bias chart, CNN skews left, which suggests Jake might do the same. Is he a Democrat? Here's what we know.

In May 2021, Jake reshared a clip to X featuring Newsmax's Grant Stinchfield in which the host was criticizing President Joe Biden. In speaking about Israel, Grant asked, "If you are Jewish and you are a Democrat and you are living in America today, how do you support an administration that turns its back on your home country?" In his reshare, Jake said he doesn't belong to any political party, but he is Jewish and his home country is the United States. "To suggest otherwise is bigotry," he said.

In July 2003, Jake was hired by ABC News. Although President Donald Trump has frequently attacked the network for its so-called liberal views, even calling it fake news following his debate with Kamala Harris, it's actually thought of as a centrist organization. While with ABC News, Jake reported on a "wide range of stories, including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the debate over Terri Schiavo, and the war in Iraq." He also interviewed John McCain and Barack Obama ahead of the 2008 election.

One could argue that because Jake co-authored a book criticizing former president Joe Biden's decision to run for president in 2024, he is not a Democrat. Actually, being able to look upon a presidential candidate with critical eyes is a pretty good indication that you're just being a good journalist.

Jake and his longtime collaborator, Alex Thompson of Axios, detailed the former president's mental and physical fall-off leading up to the 2024 race. Titled Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, the book touches on "internal concerns of aides, external worries of Democratic allies, and scrutiny by journalists," per The New York Times.

A copy of the book was obtained by The Times, which wrote that it's less of a book about a cover-up and more of a "collection of smaller occurrences and observations reflecting his decline." There are numerous examples of Biden forgetting the names of individuals he had known for years, including folks like Mike Donilon, who had been with the president since the 1980s. The book is reportedly less of a shock and more of a confirmation of what many already suspected was happening.