Poor CNN. Things just aren’t the same at The Most Trusted Name in News™ now that Donald Trump no longer lives in the White House. Fortunately for the rest of us, Trump does still live in Jake Tapper’s head. Rent-free. 24×7. Which will most likely be the case until the end of Jake’s Trump-loathing days on earth. At least. Alternate reality? Of course.

However, as “Journalist Jake” sees it, it’s his nemesis who lives in an alternate reality.

Trump lies about Jan 6 attack as his election lies inspire legislation and lawsuits @jaketapper reports https://t.co/0FbF4nnrDY pic.twitter.com/ozraGSbKz1

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) March 26, 2021

Tapper suffered yet another Stage-4 Trump Derangement Syndrome episode during Friday’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” in which he launched into Trump in a trademark venomous diatribe. As Breitbart reported, he excoriated Trump over comments the former president made to Fox News host Laura Ingraham during a Thursday interview.

As is usually the case with Jake, his blistering of Trump was replete with the cute little overly-melodramatic hyperbole of which he’s so fond. He first spewed fire over the election and Dominion Voting Systems, before losing his crap over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“Tentacles from former President Trump’s big lie and the election continues to squeeze American society. There are those fighting back.

“Dominion Voting is now suing Fox for $1.6 billion for pushing that garbage that helped send the January 6 rioters into a froth, but that channel continues to allow the lies to be spread.

“Former President Trump was given a huge chunk of prime time last night to further disseminate these toxins telling us that the murderous MAGA mob on January 6 was all about peace and love.

“Look, you can decide for yourself whether his words match what we all saw and heard that day because the images from that day are certainly graphic and disturbing.”

Tapper then played a video of the Capitol incident, overlaid with audio, in which Trump told Ingraham the Capitol “festivities” [my word] amounted to “zero threat.”

‘Zero threat’: Trump in Laura Ingraham interview defends Capitol riotershttps://t.co/qYdsCMK6Th pic.twitter.com/VxyPeoiZFK

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) March 26, 2021

Trump did tell Ingraham his supporters shouldn’t have gone inside the Capitol.

“It was zero threat. Look, they went in. They shouldn’t have done it. Some of them went in, and they were hugging and kissing the police and the guards.

“You know, they had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in, and they walked out.”

Complete and accurate description?

Here’s what Trump had to say on Fox tonight about the Capitol riots:

“It was zero threat, right from the start… Some of them went in, and they are hugging and kissing the police and the guards… a lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in and they walked out” pic.twitter.com/tPCwuzrlOd

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 26, 2021

Skewer me, but let’s be honest. Donald “forgot” several “inconvenient truths” of what went down inside the Capitol, instead portraying it as little more than a warm and friendly “meet-and-greet” — devoid of a few facts —to which Tapper responded by focusing solely on the other end of reality spectrum — again as hyperbolically as possible.

“Hugging and kissing? How about stomping and killing? Fix that for you. It’s the former president’s late attempt at whitewashing, pretending he does not have blood on his hands for one.

“One of the darkest days in American history in which five people, including Capitol Police Officer, Brian Sicknick died.

[And how, while tragic, did Sicknick die, Jake? What was the cause of his death? Wait— the debunked fire extinguisher nonsense, right?]

“It’s a dangerous alternate reality that Trump continually projects, continuing to rile up hate and anger and division in this country.”

Jake Tapper —> Mirror.

One wonders how many days of last year’s month-after-month of rioting Jake Tapper and his CNN comrades considered to be among “the darkest days in American” history? I’ll go out on a sturdy limb and guess zero.

Here’s the thing.

As is the case with the liberal lapdog media’s fear of Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Democrat sock puppets of CNN, PMSNBC, & Co. don’t fear nor detest Trump for his “lies”; they are terrified by the truths he told for five years and continues to tell. Truths Trump threw in their hypocritical faces and to their hypocritical faces at every opportunity.

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle” that the White House press corps questions at President Joe Biden’s first press conference were softballs. https://t.co/kt0H5RdJtx

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 26, 2021

It’s certainly not hard to understand how much Tapper and the other CNN clown car occupants miss not having Trump to kick around on a daily basis, 24×7. As we recently reported, ratings of “The Most Trusted Name in News” have been in a freefall since the former president left office — with its prime-time audience slashed by almost half.

No word on whether poor Jake went home after Friday’s episode and made himself a soothing cup of hot chocolate — or double scotch, neat, soda back — grabbed his blankie, and snuggled up with a pillow, safely in his bed. But I wouldn’t doubt it.