CNN’s Tapper Bashes Trump for Crushing Dissent, Rewarding Loyalists After Impeachment: ‘What Lesson Does It Look Like’ He Learned?

CNN’s Jake Tapper tore into President Donald Trump for booting dissenters within his administration and replacing them with loyalists as part of his ongoing “vengeance tour.”

In his concluding monologue for State of the Union on Sunday, Tapper remarked on how much has changed about the Trump administration since the president was acquitted of his impeachable offenses. Tapper especially noted how Trump has ousted those who testified about the Ukraine scandal before Congress, and similar developments also happened for others who opposed the president’s agenda on a number of other fronts.

The monologue eventually focused on Trump’s announcement that he will replace Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire with one of his most loyal supporters: U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell. Tapper noted that Grenell’s selection was followed by news of ousters and hires that suggest Trump wants to purge the disloyal from his administration.

“One former Trump aide said to me that the president demands personal, unqualified loyalty to him and him alone, not the Constitution or rule of law or God or country,” Tapper said.

From there, Tapper hammered White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien for injecting himself and politics into national security. This was in reference to O’Brien’s selective view on intelligence that Russia is trying to sow discord by aiding Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2020 election.

“If he’s willing to say that as National Security adviser, what does that mean for the next nine months and what is he doing when the camera’s not on him?” Tapper asked. “President Trump was impeached but not convicted for abusing his office to get re-elected. Senate Republicans said they thought he learned his lesson. What lesson does it look like the president learned?”

You can watch above, via CNN.