CNN's Jake Tapper Tries Covering Himself in Glory on Andrew Cuomo, It Backfires Big Time

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is at long last getting the level of scrutiny he deserves on the nursing home scandals conservative media outlets drew attention to months ago. That is a great thing – for victims of his disastrous COVID nursing home policy, their families, and for anyone interested in holding government officials accountable when they set bad policy that has deadly consequences.

As we’ve previously noted, however, one group that is not overly enthused about Cuomo finally facing the music in the court of public opinion are the Cuomo apologists at CNN, which gave the story of NY Attorney General Letitia James (D) dropping some inconvenient truths about the state’s coronavirus death toll in nursing homes the obligatory coverage before quickly rushing to move on.

But after today’s report from the New York Times detailing how “9 top NY health officials have quit as Gov. Cuomo scorns expertise”, Tapper stepped up to home plate, did his best “motioning towards the outfield wall” impression, and had this scolding for Cuomo:

Wildly irresponsible thing to say during a pandemic.

“When I say ‘experts’ in air quotes, it sounds like I’m saying I don’t really trust the experts,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said of pandemic policies. “Because I don’t.” https://t.co/ePa6nudbFz

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 1, 2021

He even brought up the issue on his “The Lead” program earlier today:

'It's irresponsible.' @drsanjaygupta reacts to NY Gov. Cuomo saying he doesn't trust the 'experts' pic.twitter.com/iCNlqrJ1dh

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) February 1, 2021

Tapper’s criticism of Cuomo sounded good. And, to be fair, he’s done so once or twice before on Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic in his state. But for many conservatives who remember how CNN propped Gov. Cuomo up for months as the Next Great Leader, allowed his little brother Chris Cuomo all the leeway in the world to “interview” his sibling in a manner more befitting Teen Beat magazine than a major news organization, and painted conservatives who raised questions as conspiracy theorists, Tapper’s “tough guy” act on Cuomo has come too little, too late:

YOUR network threw away its credibility with regard to Cuomo a LONG time ago. Sorry, but you don’t get to now pretend you’ve been acting like journalists with regard to him or his brother. pic.twitter.com/KaiHJnmBBL

— Lady L. North (@LadyLNorth) February 1, 2021

It’s that time of year when Tapper pushes back on the narrative to get some praise from conservatives for “holding both sides accountable”

— Zachary Faria (@ZacharyFaria) February 1, 2021

I'm laughing at you, Jake. You expended your credibility a long time ago. You COULD have chosen to dig in and find the truth about Cuomo months ago. You didn't. Why? Because it might have been seen as beneficial to Trump. That isn't journalism.

— Pam (@lifebythecreek) February 1, 2021

Some in conservative media wanted to give Tapper credit for calling out Cuomo, but I’m of the mindset of Newsbusters’ managing editor Curtis Houck, who pointed out that Tapper was in a position to do something when it mattered the most – but didn’t:

Don't give Tapper the credit here. He's only doing so after the fact (following what I recall was only one harsh segment last year) and if Tapper wanted to flex muscles, he should have pressured his colleagues or suits like Dornic.

And yet, many of you still love him to death. https://t.co/KqSaBAWyeY

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 1, 2021

Is it a good thing when mainstream media journalists report stories straight down the line rather than with their usual left-wing political slant? Of course it is. But I’m not inclined to heap praise on those in the media who repeatedly look the other way when their colleagues and network are behaving badly and with obvious narratives to push. Worse still, Tapper was an active participant in CNN’s campaign to falsely portray Gov. Cuomo as a magnificent hero who was above having to answer uncomfortable questions.

But now that the chickens are coming home to roost for both Gov. Cuomo and the media outlets who coddled him, can we finally expect some Real Reporting™ from the #FactsFirst network?

I look forward to all the CNN segments denouncing Gov. Cuomo as being an enemy to science. Will there be enlarged Q-tip props involved? #FactsFirst pic.twitter.com/qr7U6Xytc9

— Sister Toldjah, VP of BS Detection 😁 (@sistertoldjah) February 1, 2021

As they say, stay tuned!

(Hat tip: Twitchy)