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The life of Jake Tapper: how a high school prankster became a journalistic icon, author, and champion of truth
The life of Jake Tapper: how a high school prankster became a journalistic icon, author, and champion of truth
Sep 10, 2019, 19:57 IST
Jake Tapper was born on Staten Island in New York on March 12, 1969.
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He went to school at Akiba Hebrew Academy, now called Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, and was editor of the school paper. Here, he addresses graduates in 2012.
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He wanted to be a political cartoonist like Garry Trudeau.
As a senior, Tapper interned for Ed Rendell who was running to be mayor of Philadelphia.
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Tapper went to Dartmouth University. He joined and then quickly left the Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity, as the drinking and sexism made him uncomfortable.
He enrolled in film school at USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles.
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After that, he began to work for Marjorie Margolies, a family friend, who was running or congress.
In 1994, he began contributing to Roll Call with a cartoon strip called "Capitol Hell."
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For three years he worked at a public relations firm called Powell Tate, and in 1997 he worked as a spokesman for Handgun Control, a gun control group.
While on a ski trip to Vermont he read a story in the New Republic, which he idolized, written by a young freelancer, and he had an epiphany.
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His first full-time journalism job was at Washington City Paper.
In 1998, he published his first cover story called "I Dated Monica Lewinsky," about a date he went on with Monica Lewinsky, several weeks after her affair with then-President Bill Clinton hit the news cycle.
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In 1999, he published his first book "Body Slam: The Jesse Ventura Story," about the former wrestler-turned-governor of Minnesota.
After three years he left Washington City Paper to become the Washington Correspondent for Salon.
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While working for Salon, Tapper covered the Gore Bush presidential campaign.
In 2001, he published "Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency," about the 36 days the country spent waiting to see if there would be a recount after the election between Bush and Gore.
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In 2001, he landed his first job on TV, as a host on "Take Five," a CNN roundtable program.
In 2003, he began working as a host on ABC's "Good Morning America."
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In 2004, he spoke with Columbia Journalism Review about the move from print journalism to broadcasting.
In 2004, he met his future wife Jennifer Marie Brown in Des Moines, during the presidential caucus.
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They married in 2006 at the Clubhouse in Kansas City.
She says her husband isn't too hard to explain. He's honest and truthful and gets mad when other people aren't. They live in a leafy suburb in Washington, DC...
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... With their two children Alice and Jack. Alice is named after suffragette Alice Paul...
... While Jack is named after Jackie Robinson, the first African American athlete to play Major League Baseball.
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The day after the 2008 presidential election, Tapper was named ABC's senior White House correspondent.
His co-anchor Diane Sawyer thought he was an impressive journalist.
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In 2009, former ABC News anchor Charles Gibson said Tapper could be brash, but he was also "hungry, hardworking, and hard to ignore."
As ABC's senior White House correspondent, Tapper interacted a lot with former President Barack Obama.
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Despite his hard work, Tapper was passed over for host of ABC's "This Week," a Sunday morning news show, in 2010 and again in 2012.
In 2012, he published "The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor."
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In 2013, he became CNN's host for "The Lead." It plays every weekday.
The history degree might have been a long time ago, but as his CNN office shows, he's still very much a student of history, at least in politics.
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To keep up with the rigorous schedule, he likes his coffee constant. Note the four coffee cups on his desk.
In 2015, he started hosting "State of the Union with Jake Tapper," where he interviews world leaders about controversial topics.
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From 2015 on, he's become one of CNN's go-to election debate hosts.
In 2016, he asked then-presidential candidate Donald Trump 23 times whether comments he made about a federal judge were racist.
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In 2017, Tapper started to have what GQ called the "Jake Tapper Moment."
In January 2017, in response to Trump's advisor Steve Bannon telling media to keep its mouth shut, Tapper opened his show with one word: "no."
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His critical interviews started getting a lot of traction.
In February 2017, he had his now-infamous interview with Kellyanne Conway.
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And he was mocked for it on Saturday Night Live.
In January 2018, he had a combative interview with Stephen Miller, one of the president's advisers.
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Along with his focus on facts, Tapper's become known for the faces he pulls.
In February 2018, he moderated a town hall meeting about gun control after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
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In April 2018, he released "The Hellfire Club," his first published book of fiction, a political thriller set in the 1950s.
In 2019, he moderated the second Democratic presidential debate and was criticized for his relentless observing of time restrictions.
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Since Trump became president, Tapper's said he's been reminded a journalist's job is to take a stand over facts, truth, and human decency.