‘Whoa, Whoa!’ Jake Tapper’s Tense Interview With WH Adviser Derails When Camera Crashes to the Ground

A tense interview between CNN’s Jake Tapper and White House advisor Brian Deese was derailed Wednesday when the latter’s camera crashed to the ground.

On The Lead, the host welcomed Deese remotely from the White House to discuss the nationwide baby formula shortage.

President Joe Biden has admitted he was blindsided by the shortage and only learned of a major plant closure by the FDA in April. It was shut down in December.

Tapper, while addressing Deese, wanted to know why Biden was not in the loop.

“Brian, why didn’t anyone tell the president?” Tapper asked after he invoked the shortage.

Deese argued Biden has been informed about work to remedy the shortage through importing formula and by authorizing the Defense Production Act. Tapper retorted:

I guess I still just don’t fully understand why you didn’t tell the president until April if the problem was reported to the FDA last fall, the FDA didn’t check it out until I think December, and then they shut down the factory in February.

The president, the only one who can invoke the Defense Production Act to force companies to produce this incredibly direly needed infant formula, he’s not told until April. Karine Jean-Pierre, your press secretary, said this has been a whole of government approach. That doesn’t include the president?

Deese said the government is working to end the crisis and to get the factory back open. He also said a “thorough” FDA investigation will be conducted to assess what went wrong.

Tapper challenged Deese about an FDA investigation into itself.

“I don’t need the FDA to investigate itself to come to the judgment that they did not act quickly enough, and on behalf of all of the frustrated moms and dads and guardians out there, I hope you don’t either,” Tapper noted.

As Deese attempted to respond to Tapper, a CNN camera filming him rotated, before it ultimately fell over.

“Whoa, Whoa!” Deese said before CNN tossed it back to Tapper in the studio.

Watch above, via CNN.