‘It’s Not Actually Brave’: CNN’s Jake Tapper Mocks Idea It’s Heroic To Speak Out Against Trump Over Jan 6

CNN anchor Jake Tapper mocked the notion that it’s courageous to denounce former President Donald Trump’s embrace of the January 6 rioters, as former Vice President Mike Pence did.

The news that Trump has been indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s grand jury investigating the circumstances around hush money payments to Stormy Daniels happened to coincide with the CNN special featuring Wolf Blitzer’s live sit-down with former VP Mike Pence, which included this exchange:

BLITZER: Trump opened his rally, last weekend, in Waco, Texas, as you know, with a recording, of the national anthem, sung by January 6 prisoners, played over footage, of January 6. Are you comfortable with that?

PENCE: No.

BLITZER: Tell us why.

PENCE: Well, my wife, my daughter, my staff and I were evacuated, first, in my office, off the Senate floor, and then, to the parking garage, below the Senate, on January 6. We stayed at our post. I know, we did our job, that day. By God’s grace, we completed our work, under the Constitution of the United States.

But, on that day, when I sent out a message, calling on people, to leave the Capitol, immediately, and I made it clear, my position then continues to be today that those that engaged in violence, at the Capitol, I believe, should be prosecuted, to the fullest extent of the law. And I’ll never diminish what happened that day. And I’ll never celebrate people that assaulted 140 Police officers that ransacked our Capitol. Now, that being said, Wolf, there were people that were caught up in it–

BLITZER: But they were threatening, so many of them were saying “Hang Mike Pence!”

PENCE: I’m very–

BLITZER: “Hang Mike Pence!” They were threatening you.

PENCE: I became aware of that after the fact. And look, I don’t doubt that there were some people that were innocently caught up in it. And — but there were people that came into the Capitol that assaulted Police officers, and I believe they should answer to the law.

BLITZER: And so many of them are already answering to the law. Right now, they’re in jail.

PENCE: They are indeed.

BLITZER: And they belong in jail, right?

PENCE: They do.

Later in the hour, Tapper confessed to having been impressed, and then not impressed, with Pence’s responses:

TAPPER: As something else that he said to Wolf that I thought was interesting was when Donald Trump opened his rally, in Waco, Texas, which was an interestingly chosen site, for a rally, he had a musical tribute, by the January 6 prisoners. And it had images of that violent attack, on the Capitol.

And Wolf asked him, what he thought. And he obviously thought it was inappropriate, and said so.

And it’s remarkable that we even have to have this discussion that a violent attack on the Capitol happened. And here is a former President, literally glorifying it, acting as though people, who acted in a violent way that day, to stop the counting of our votes, acting, as if they’re political prisoners.

COATES: Yes.

TAPPER: And yet, when Vice President Pence said it, I was like, “Oh, good. That’s brave of him.”

It’s not actually brave for anyone, really. It’s, these are criminals. COATES: It was the one time that he said, with in no uncertain terms, “No.”

BORGER: Right.

COATES: You always listen for the yes or no responses.

TAPPER: Yes.

MCCABE: Right.

COATES: And Wolf actually had to say, “OK, explain what, why you feel that way,” right?

GANGEL: And “They belong in prison. They belong in prison.”

COATES: “They belong in prison.”

TAPPER: “They belong in prison.”

COATES: It wasn’t just–

TAPPER: But that’s a gutsy thing–

COATES: Right.

TAPPER: –for a Republican official, to say, these days–

COATES: Well.

TAPPER: –I am sad to say.

BORGER: Yes.

COATES: What a standard!

Watch above via CNN.

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