Forget Jake, it’s CNN-town.

There was a time when Jake Tapper was actually highly regarded. The CNN fixture managed to earn praise from all sides by displaying a willingness to be bi-partisan. While maybe not completely even-handed in all his reports he was at least willing to call out and be critical of figures on the left. It speaks volumes to his network’s bias that Tapper could stand out by simply being objective.

Jake is also humorous and engaging on social media, so all told he was one of the names many would point to as a source of decent news. That changed during the Trump years, as he had made a notable shift to more partisan areas, especially so in the past year. Yet as more people have noted Jake’s portside drift, this week during the elevation of Joe Biden to the Presidency he has apparently gone full CNN leftist. It is an odd and disappointing change.

Even allowing for Tapper in a role of pundit/opinion maker his positions this week have been glaring. It began earlier in the week when questions over the integrity of the counts were issued. Jake took a position of outrage that anyone would dare question such things.

Conservative GOP veteran of several presidential campaigns: “Very concerned about what I’m seeing from GOP activists. They are attacking the integrity of the electoral system but don’t seem to have any particular expertise about what they are criticizing. We all lose…

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 5, 2020

Glossing over the fact that this certainly sounds like he could be quoting Lincoln Project members, note that there is no frame of reference in mentioning the past presidential election. We endured years of speculation that Russia  rigged the system for Trump, but now questioning the counting process after some suspicious news reports is considered to be ‘’attacking the integrity of the system’’. That’s quite the dichotomy

On Saturday CNN led the charge in trumpeting that Joe Biden was declared the new President, and Jake appears to have used this event to untether himself from any remaining anchors of objectivity. In his view of the announcement he declared that ‘’for tens of millions of Americans the nightmare is over.’’ Just to illustrate the lack of objectivity, President Trump received votes from 70 million Americans. 

That same day Tapper got into a Twitter exchange with the White House Press Secretary Kayleigh MacEnany. He elected to respond to her defense of White House operative Steven Miller from attacks on his character, by attacking his character.

“One of the kindest people in the administration” seems a bit much for a guy who – per senior WH source – helped push child-separation, wanted the campaign to smear Kamala Harris with birtherism and is regarded by WH colleagues as a straight up racist. https://t.co/MxekVIGIvc

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 7, 2020

When MacEnany dared to respond in kind he reported to the standby meme of ‘’Bye, Felecia’’. It was an odd dose of aggression from the newsman, but this seems his position now following the election. He has taken this contempt to a new level.

He was referring to President Trump’s kids and their reactions to the voting issues, and did so in a most dismissive, unprofessional fashion. He went on to describe them as ‘’The President’s spawn’’, describing their claims as the rantings of LSD addicts using crayons. It is amazing to see this once respected newsman become this petulant on the air.

"These are claims so wild they wouldn't even make — forget Fox — they wouldn't even make Fox Business, where all sorts of facts go to die’’ @jaketapper on the tweets of the "President's spawn". #Elections2020 pic.twitter.com/XzerZfggkD

— Ian Fraser (@Ian_Fraser) November 7, 2020

This sharp turn made by Tapper appears to also be infecting his actual work. He came out on Sunday with a bold announcement that he has heard – via CNN’s preferred hit method, via anonymous sourcing – that there are divided factions within the administration on whether to concede the election, or not.

Sources close to POTUS tell me he’s being urged by Jared Kushner, Rudy Giuliani, & campaign adviser Jason Miller to hold rallies throughout the US pushing for recounts of votes. Dave Bossie and WH chief of staff Mark Meadows are urging the president to think about a concession.  

Only one slight problem: the very individuals named by Tapper directly refuted his claims, on no unwavering terms. Bossier pushed back sternly to Tapper’s claim.

Hey Fake News guy, somebody rolled you. Shoulda reached out but wouldn’t fit your narrative https://t.co/7oe1GxyGK1

— David Bossie (@David_Bossie) November 9, 2020

Then Jason Miller also weighed in on the matter, in even more stern fashion.

This is 100% false. There is no truth to this report whatsoever. CoS Meadows, Dave Bossie, Jared Kushner, Rudy, myself and everybody else are on the same page – we all work for @realDonaldTrump and follow his lead, and there is no daylight between us. https://t.co/GAHjAs5yck

— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) November 9, 2020

This is a pretty substantial beating down of Tapper’s claims. Note that these men were each from supposedly combative sides of Jake’s inside intel story. They both state clearly he was completely incorrect. This would be an embarrassing rebuke in the days of old in the media landscape. But this is the Trump era, and the press has dispatched any ability of feeling remorse over inaccuracies years ago.

It now seems that a Joe Biden Presidency has given  members of the press the feeling that they are unchained from any pretense of objectivity. We have known for a long time this was not the case, but journalists have held onto the guise of unbiased reporting and ferreting out the truth. With Trump seemingly on the way out of D.C. they look as if being held to their own standard is no longer a ploy they need to pretend to follow.

It is sad to see a once respected journalist devolve into the Jim Acosta-level of commentary. It is to be expected however, both from this network, and from the new environment of a Biden Presidency. Jake Tapper was once looked to from many on the right for objectivity; like so many at CNN he has become another name to simply overlook.