Jake Tapper Gobsmacked by Guest’s Wild Trump Theory: ‘Are You Saying He’s a Democratic Operative?’

CNN’s Jake Tapper was surprised by a guest’s take on President Donald Trump and asked if she was suggesting Trump is a secret “Democratic operative.”

Tapper brought on Xochitl Hinojosa, a former communications director with the Democratic National Committee, and Mike Dubke, a former White House communications director during Trump’s first term, on Tuesday’s The Lead, and during a discussion about the midterms, Hinojosa argued it looked like Trump was trying to purposefully “sabotage” Republicans.

“He’s not talking about the war, he’s not talking about gas prices, he is not talking about prices at the grocery store or all these great things that Mike just talked about. What he is talking about is that potentially two senators from Georgia were illegitimate. He is talking the 2020 election, which, why are we looking back?” Hinojosa said, referring to the president’s scheduled Thursday address to the nation where he will reportedly be discussing the 2020 presidential election.

Hinojosa added she hopes networks do not cover Trump’s address live.

“These are conspiracy theories. My hope is that it is not covered live on a lot of networks. But it is. It is a joke, I’m sorry, that he is trying to sabotage the midterm elections for Republicans. This is not what he should be talking about,” she said.

“Are you saying he’s a Democratic operative?” a surprised Tapper asked.

“I think maybe,” Hinojosa joked.

“He was once a Democrat,” Tapper responded. “This is a long, long play. That is a long play. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Manchurian Candidate territory,” Dubke joked, referring to the 1962 film starring Frank Sinatra or the 1959 novel it’s based on by Richard Condon.

“I know. Somebody call Budd Schulberg,” Tapper added, referring to the screenwriter behind films like 1954’s On the Waterfront and 1957’s A Face in the Crowd.

Watch above via CNN.

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