Jake Tapper Slams Trump For ‘Rare Retreat’ on Child Separation Policy: ‘Why Didn’t He Do This 2,000 Kids Ago?’

Just moments after President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the controversial child separation policy, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked a pointed question at the top of his show, “Why didn’t he do this 2,000 kids ago?”

Continuing on, Tapper said Wednesday afternoon, “Under intense political pressure brought on by the outrage over images and sounds of kids in cages, calling out for their parents, President Trump finally signs an order which he says will stop his family separation practice at the border. But it didn’t really sound like he wanted to.”

Then after turning briefly to other topics of the day, Tapper returned to the breaking news, noting that by signing the EO, “President Trump did something today that we have never before seen him do as president. He surrendered, taking a step for weeks he falsely insisted was not possible.”

He added; “He stopped the practice of child separation himself, he says. The president claimed he was not backing down, but he did just sign an executive order that he said would, quote, ‘keep families together while ensuring we have a powerful border.’ The president acknowledging there was pressure from both his wife and his daughter, Ivanka, to end the separation policy that his own administration policy instituted.”

Finally, after noting how the child separation race could have proven calamitous for midterm Republicans, Tapper concluded: “A rare retreat by a president who prides himself on never apologizing.”

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com