Hot Mic Catches CNN’s Exasperated Jake Tapper During Live Shot — MAGA Media Pounces

CNN anchor Jake Tapper was caught on a hot mic exasperated with the control room during a live shot toss from Anderson Cooper, which MAGA media figures pounced on to claim tension between the pair.

Tapper and Cooper were part of CNN’s team coverage of President Donald Trump’s high-stakes summit meeting in Anchorage, Alaska with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.

During that special edition of CNN’s The Lead, some of Tapper’s chatter with the control room was caught live as he expressed frustration, which Cooper laughed off as he threw coverage from the studio over to Tapper:

JOHN KING: Only if they announced a total ceasefire, air, land, ground, would that be acceptable to Ukraine? Otherwise, we’re going to keep going and keep going, but we’re going to know in a few minutes. COOPER: Let’s go back to Jake in Anchorage. Jake?

TAPPER: I’m fine. Just give me my show back!

COOPER: (SMILING) The show’s back!

TAPPER: (HALTINGLY) All right, here we go. So, let’s go now to Senator Schiff who we have here. Senator Schiff is joining me, ready to go in — the senator — the Democratic senator from California.

Several minutes later, Tapper addressed technical difficulties the show was experiencing after they cropped up again during his interview with Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA):

TAPPER: No, I understand it’s not for the American people to say, but would you agree that like if there is some sort of peace process. And as part of that, Ukraine does have to at least acknowledge that Russia is occupying some of its own country and that the physical war to stop that will end or at least ceasefire.

SCHIFF: Jake, I think I lost you. I think I lost the connection.

TAPPER: But that’s not inherently — we’re having real comms problems today. I’m sorry about that. If anybody can hear me, let’s go throw it back to New York.

Okay. Maybe we’ll —

COOPER: Jake, thanks very much. We’ll try to fix the comms problem. Back with the panel here.

But several MAGA media figures clipped the moment and used it to suggest Tapper was “angry” or “pissed off” with Cooper.

Watch above via CNN’s The Lead.