The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has accused CNN of “meddling in swing races” due to a report that anchor Jake Tapper tried convincing Sean Parnell to avoid running in a district where he could flip a seat.
“So how many other districts has @jaketapper pulled this crap with? Why is CNN meddling in House swing races? This is absurd,” the NRCC tweeted.
The message was in response to a Breitbart report claiming Tapper had tried on multiple occasions to convince congressional candidate and conservative author/veteran Sean Parnell to give up running in Pennsylvania’s 17th district and instead run in a more traditionally Republican area in the state.
So how many other districts has @jaketapper pulled this crap with? Why is CNN meddling in House swing races? This is absurd. #PA17https://t.co/q4SF6vRMV4
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report claimed Tapper tried convincing Parnell to switch his plans through text messages, direct messages on social media, and phone calls, but Parnell did not listen.
The report not only indicates that a member of the media who claims to not be motivated by personal politics is trying to directly influence elections, but also that there is an awareness of the importance of certain congressional races in regards to which party will next hold the majority in Congress.
Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pennsylvania), Parnell’s rival, is not facing any serious competition besides the conservative pundit, so it’s likely he could carry his district without the challenge in November. What’s important about the specific district is that it is one of 30 House districts Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election that is now represented by a Democrat. By flipping those districts to the Republican side again, people like Parnell are hoping to help the party win majority control in Congress, taking power away from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), currently one of the president’s most stringent opponents.
Richard Grenell, the acting director of United States National Intelligence, has tweeted that he’s been in contact with Tapper and says the anchor and author denies trying to influence Parnell. Grenell also called on Breitbart News to reveal the sources for their story.
Update. I just asked @jaketapper “Is it true you asked Sean Parnell to not run against Conor Lamb?” He told me “nope”. So there is his answer. https://t.co/Nh8LdVKmrD
The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis pushed back against the denial and claimed he also knew Tapper had tried meddling in the election.
I can confirm, notwithstanding his denial, that Jake Tapper directly urged Parnell not to run against Rep. Conor Lamb, a vulnerable left-wing Democrat in a swing congressional district in Pennsylvania. https://t.co/CiJebG5B7t
Critics have used the allegations against Tapper to highlight the CNN anchor’s liberal political bias, as well as that of his network.
Since Jake Tapper is trending its a good time to remind everyone of that time he said to Stephen Miller: “I think I’ve wasted enough of my viewers time” then cut him off and ended the segment. pic.twitter.com/VHQeknlCJ6
Jake Tapper is a Democrat operative. Who does not know this? The entirety of CNN is a wing of the DNC. How there are not investigations into this is anyone’s guess. https://t.co/TB1p7KiEOP
These do not sound like the actions of a disinterested observer reporting on political events. The messages between Tapper & Parnell must be released. Fake @JakeTapper Pushed GOP’s Sean Parnell to Run in Different District than Democrat Conor Lamb https://t.co/IXXPc7cD2g
Others have pushed back against the criticism to pull attention to the close relationships President Trump keeps with some in the media, including Fox News host Sean Hannity, who campaigned for Trump. Though, if the Tapper allegations are true, his activism would have been much less in the open than that of Hannity.
Here’s a pic of the mean ignorant people pretending to care that Jake Tapper may have involved himself in politics https://t.co/61TlJCzoqzpic.twitter.com/g2Zkylasl0
I find it astonishing how quickly Trump supporters believe “anonymous sources” from far-rightwing propaganda website Breitbart about Jake Tapper but refuse to believe “anonymous sources” when multiple mainstream media outlets including Fox News report poorly on Trump.Hypocrisy!
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