Jake Tapper Calls Out Fox News for Airing Kristen Welker Family’s Democratic Donations: ‘Hideous and Unjournalistic’
CNN anchor Jake Tapper called out Fox News on Monday for talking about a New York Post report on NBC News White House Correspondent Kristen Welker’s parents ahead of the next 2020 presidential debate, which Welker is set to moderate.
After Fox News aired that Welker’s family had previously donated nearly $20,000 to former President Barack Obama, $3,300 to 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign, $2,100 t0 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and $7,300 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Tapper criticized the outlet on Twitter.
“If any other outlet started covering the political donations of *the parents* of folks who work at Fox there would be widespread outrage and rightly so,” reacted Tapper. “This is hideous and unjournalistic. And another example of how bad actors use standards against those who uphold them.”
If any other outlet started covering the political donations of *the parents* of folks who work at Fox there would be widespread outrage and rightly so. This is hideous and unjournalistic. And another example of how bad actors use standards against those who uphold them. https://t.co/4FlfsVeyLU
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 19, 2020
Welker has faced scrutiny as the moderator for the final 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Biden on Thursday following the controversy over C-SPAN senior executive producer Steve Scully, who was set to moderate the cancelled second presidential debate.
Scully — who was already facing accusations of personal bias towards Biden — publicly tweeted former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci asking if he should respond to Trump’s criticisms against him, before claiming that he had not made the tweet and was hacked.
It was later revealed that Scully had lied about being hacked, and he was subsequently suspended from C-SPAN.
Welker, as the moderator of the third debate, then raised eyebrows after she temporarily deactivated her own Twitter account in response to Scully’s hacking claims — allegedly as a security precaution.
On Saturday, after the New York Post published a report alleging Welker’s “deep Democrat ties,” Trump tweeted, “She’s always been terrible & unfair, just like most of the Fake News reporters, but I’ll still play the game. The people know! How’s Steve Scully doing?”
