Days after Jake Tapper fumed over a joke made about his teenage son wanting to be a police officer during an appearance on a “left-leaning podcast,” claiming it was the reason why Democrats are “losing elections,” the hosts of How Long Gone responded to the CNN anchor.
“Him willfully choosing to take a joke wrong, that he definitely knew what it was in the moment, I would say is only a pro move,” co-host Chris Black drolly noted. “He spun it for his own gain, and it's working.”
Tapper, who is relentlessly promoting his book Original Sin, recently appeared alongside co-author Alex Thompson on Scott Galloway’s podcast The Prof G Pod to discuss their tome about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and the alleged “cover-up” of the former president’s health ahead of the 2024 election.
At one point, Tapper brought up an appearance he made on a “left-leaning podcast that shall remain nameless” in order to argue that liberals and the Democratic Party are losing political ground among young men. Specifically, he referenced an exchange he had with the hosts about his 15-year-old son’s admiration for law enforcement.
“Their joke was about my 15-year-old son, ‘Oh, how does he feel about minorities?’ Like the idea that he wants to be a policeman, therefore he’s racist… that was the big laugh,” the CNN star grumbled.
“And then I got dragged in the comments and all that stuff and I thought to myself, ‘This is why you f***ers are losing elections.’”
After Galloway said he agreed with Tapper “100 percent,” the State of the Union host continued to grouse about the comments made by the unnamed podcasters, suggesting that they spoke for the Democrats as a whole.
“He’s 15. He thinks about World War II and gaming and playing linebacker, that’s his world,” Tapper continued. “You’re deciding he’s a racist because he wants to be a cop. And why does he want to be a cop? He wants to be a cop because he wants to help people, you know, and he thinks that’s the best way he can help people. And that’s how the Democratic Party talks to men, not just white men, but men.”
While neither Tapper nor Galloway identified the show where these comments were made, it soon became obvious that it occurred during the CNN host’s April 2 appearance on How Long Gone, a pop culture podcast that launched during the pandemic and soon became a cult hit for its joke-laden and conversational approach.
In its write-up of Tapper’s complaints about How Long Gone, the Daily Mailclaimed that the Original Sin author was “outraged after woke podcaster suggested his child was RACIST for absurd reason.”
Meanwhile, during the interview in question, the hosts and Tapper discussed the politics of Gen Z, especially among young men. When Tapper said that he understood why Democrats were “struggling so much” with teenage males because they “don't speak any language that my son speaks,” the conversation shifted to the younger Tapper’s interests.
At one point, after Tapper revealed that his son “likes the military” and “likes police,” co-host Jason Stewart quipped: “How does he feel about minorities?” Pausing for a beat, Tapper said “he’s pro” before moving on to a discussion about a text message his daughter sent him recently.
The interview would continue for another 25 minutes and concluded with the anchor expressing willingness to come back this summer to talk about his Biden book.
With Tapper calling them out on Galloway’s podcast, Black and Stewart responded during their latest episode of How Long Gone. Black, a “tastemaker” and brand consultant, kicked off the latest broadcast by jokingly referencing the Daily Mail’s headline.
“Chris Black coming to you from New York City, and I’m joined by my woke podcaster co-host ThemJeans,” Black snarked, invoking Stewart’s moniker as a well-known DJ.
“What up, bro? Just being woke up in here,” Stewart quipped. “I’m woke in the traditional sense of the word.”
Right off the bat, Black brought up the comments made on their show that Tapper is now outraged about, praising Stewart for telling a “really f*cking funny joke” about whether Tapper’s son liked minorities because he wants to be a cop.
“I know I've told you this before, but that's some of the best material you've ever that I've ever heard from you in our… 15-year friendship,” Black added, prompting Stewart to reply: “Thank you for that. It was a fun question to ask.”
Adding that Tapper’s answer about his son being “pro” minority was also “equally fun” and “timed perfectly in the comedic sense,” the two hosts spent the next few minutes essentially making fun of the sudden controversy over the April 2 segment.
“I think this is pretty funny and ridiculous and I'm like, I don't think that his quote about him getting dragged in the comments – we don't have comments, so I don't know where he's getting dragged necessarily,” Black noted, pointing out that the podcast doesn’t have a comments section.
“Him appearing on How Long Gone was not the first time he has been dragged in the comments, I think,” Stewart quipped.
While the pair noted they “were not mad” at Tapper because it only brought more attention to their podcast and helped him sell books, they still took some pointed shots at both the CNN anchor and Galloway for refusing to name their show, especially since both personalities have been How Long Gone guests.
“It’s not the first time that he's been a flip-flopper or a reverse switcher, and he does it with success because he's a pro and he's been doing it for a long time,” Stewart dryly stated about Tapper. “Hats off to you.”
“I also think him and Scott Galloway, who have both been guests on How Long Gone, not mentioning the name of the show feels purposeful in a different way,” Black added. “It feels a little bit, like remember who the big d*cks are.”
In the end, though, both of the hosts were unapologetic about the joke that now has Tapper enraged and painting them as speaking for the entire liberal establishment when it comes to turning off young men from voting Democratic.
“Look, on this side, it’s f*ck cops all day! That’s how it’s gonna stay, and that’s how it’s gonna be. I don’t fuck with that stuff. You know, we don’t like authority over here,” Black declared. “That being said I hope Jake Tapper sells more books. You know, I hope his Biden mental decline tome flies off the shelves. I hope the Goodreads reviews are through the roof.”
“And also the big laugh was not us asking him how his son feels about minorities the big laugh was Jake waiting a beat and saying ‘pro’ – saying that he believes that his son is pro-minorities, that is just a funny thing,” Stewart concluded. “I'm sure your son is a great person. I don't think that he's a racist radical, and I don't think he wants to quote-unquote clean up the streets andall that stuff. I think you've raised him to be a good young man, and it's commendable that he wants to do good in this world.”
CNN and Tapper declined to comment about the How Long Gone hosts’ response.
Meanwhile, in a recent conversation with Semafor, Black explained why How Long Gone largely avoids diving into political topics or spending much of the show discussing Donald Trump.
“It’s just not our interest. I’m interested from a point of view of being informed because I’m a responsible adult, and I want to know what’s going on,” the former pop-punk band manager said. “And to me, it’s very clear the difference between right and wrong, but I don’t need to do an hour-long podcast where someone’s talking about the evil Cheeto man.”
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