48 Facts About Jake Tapper

1.

Jacob Paul Tapper was born on March 12,1969 and is an American journalist, author, and cartoonist.

2.

Jake Tapper is the lead Washington anchor for CNN, hosts the weekday television news show The Lead with Jake Tapper, and co-hosts the Sunday morning public affairs program State of the Union.

3.

Jake Tapper helped with the coverage of the inauguration of President Obama that earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Coverage of a Current News Story.

4.

The Republican primary debate Jake Tapper moderated in September 2015 drew more than 23 million viewers, making it the most-watched program in the history of CNN and the second-most watched primary debate ever.

5.

Jake Tapper moderated the Republican presidential debate in Miami on March 10,2016, which drew almost 12 million viewers and, according to Variety, "garnered acclaim for its substance".

6.

Jake Tapper was born in New York City and was raised in Queen Village, Philadelphia.

7.

Jake Tapper is the son of Theodore S "Ted" and Helen Anne Tapper.

8.

Jake Tapper's parents are Jewish; his mother, who was raised Presbyterian, converted to Judaism.

9.

When Jake Tapper was a kid, he spent summers attending the Jewish summer camp Camp Ramah in the Poconos.

10.

Jake Tapper attended the Philadelphia School, a progressive, independent elementary school known for its weekly out of classroom excursions to farms, etc.

11.

At Dartmouth, Jake Tapper was a member of Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity.

12.

Jake Tapper briefly attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

13.

In 1992, Jake Tapper served as a Campaign Press Secretary for Democratic congressional candidate Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and later served as her congressional press secretary.

14.

Jake Tapper worked for Powell Tate, a Washington, DC, public relations firm run by Democrat Jody Powell and Republican Sheila Tate.

15.

Jake Tapper was a spokesman for Hooters, a restaurant chain that features scantily clad women as servers.

16.

Jake Tapper worked for Handgun Control, Inc in 1997.

17.

Jake Tapper wrote several articles as a freelance writer and then began his full-time journalism career in 1998; for two years, he was a Senior Writer for the Washington City Paper.

18.

Jake Tapper won a Society of Professional Journalists award for his work at the Washington City Paper.

19.

Jake Tapper's reports about Enron were nominated for a 2002 Columbia University School of Journalism online award, and he was an early questioner of the Bush administration's claims about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction.

20.

In 2001, Jake Tapper was the host of the CNN news talk show, Take Five.

21.

Jake Tapper was a columnist for TALK Magazine, and has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Weekly Standard, and other publications.

22.

From March to July 2010, Jake Tapper was interim anchor of ABC's This Week, hosting the program until Christiane Amanpour became This Weeks anchor.

23.

Jake Tapper was named Senior White House Correspondent on November 5,2008, the day after the 2008 presidential election.

24.

Jake Tapper was a key part of the ABC News coverage of the inauguration of President Obama that was awarded an Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Coverage of a Current News Story.

25.

Jake Tapper was passed over as a candidate to replace George Stephanopoulos, who, like Jake Tapper entered the news business following a career as a Democratic campaign operative, as anchor of This Week when Stephanopoulos was chosen to replace Diane Sawyer as co-host of Good Morning America after she became the anchor of World News.

26.

Jake Tapper served as the interim anchor until Amanpour took over the show on August 1,2010.

27.

Jake Tapper was passed over again when Stephanopoulous decided he wanted to return to the position.

28.

Jake Tapper contributed regularly to Good Morning America, Nightline, and World News with Diane Sawyer.

29.

Jake Tapper contributed a report to a broadcast of World News Tonight with Peter Jennings that won the 2005 Edward R Murrow Award for best network newscast.

30.

Jake Tapper began with CNN in January 2013, hosting his own program, The Lead with Jake Tapper.

31.

The Lead with Jake Tapper won three National Headliner Awards for its reporting in 2013.

32.

On September 16,2015, Jake Tapper moderated two Republican primary debates from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

33.

In 2018, Jake Tapper was part of a four-person team at CNN that included Carl Bernstein, Jim Sciutto, and Evan Perez that won the Merriman Smith Award for broadcast reporting on the White House under deadline pressure.

34.

Jake Tapper called it a "hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck".

35.

Jake Tapper has contributed to GQ, The Weekly Standard, NPR's All Things Considered, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

36.

Jake Tapper has been a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Colbert Report, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Conan, The View, Real Time with Bill Maher, and appeared on the Judge John Hodgman podcast as guest bailiff, standing in for regular bailiff Jesse Thorn during the August 31,2011 episode entitled "De Plane".

37.

Jake Tapper made a cameo in the Halloween-themed episode of The Rookie.

38.

Jake Tapper is the author of The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, a critically acclaimed book about US troops in Afghanistan that debuted at number 10 on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardback non-fiction.

39.

Jake Tapper wrote Body Slam: The Jesse Ventura Story that was excerpted by The Washington Post Magazine.

40.

Jake Tapper has contributed cartoons to The American Spectator magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

41.

In 2017, Jake Tapper won several awards, including the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism.

42.

Jake Tapper won RTDNA's John F Hogan Distinguished Service Award, which "recognizes an individual's contributions to the journalism profession and freedom of the press", as well as CJF's Tribute Award which awards those who uphold the highest standards of journalism and inspire journalists around the world.

43.

In 2018, Jake Tapper won a Vetty, recognizing his coverage of veterans' issues.

44.

On July 6,2009, former MSNBC television personality Dan Abrams launched a website service, Mediaite, reporting on media figures, ranking all TV-based journalists in America by influence; for December 2010, Jake Tapper ranked at number one.

45.

Jake Tapper is willing to ask the tough questions, listen carefully, and then follow up with precisely the right response to get to the heart of the matter.

46.

Jake Tapper has two honorary degrees from UMass Amherst and Dartmouth.

47.

In 2006, Jake Tapper married Jennifer Marie Brown, a former Planned Parenthood official, in her home state of Missouri.

48.

Jake Tapper is a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Philadelphia 76ers.