JD Vance takes CNN's Tapper to task for pushing Russia collusion narrative: Talked about it 'constantly'

During a contentious interview on CNN, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance criticized host Jake Tapper and his network for a lack of “integrity” in their coverage of former President Trump, accusing them of pushing the Russian collusion narrative as if it were real.

The moment came after Vance and Tapper clashed over former Trump White House chief of staff John Kelly's allegations that Trump once claimed he wanted generals like Hitler. Vance noted that Tapper's network focuses on reporting such anti-Trump claims, citing as an example CNN's coverage of Trump's alleged collusion with Russia to steal the 2016 election.

“A viewer of your network would have believed that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were conspiring in 2016. That was completely and absurdly wrong,” Vance said.

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In a recent CNN interview, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance confronted host Jake Tapper about his network's coverage of Trump-Russia collusion.

The exchange began with Vance denouncing CNN's integrity after dismissing Kelly's claims about Trump's “fascist” impulses that went viral earlier this week and were pushed by the Harris campaign and other Democratic lawmakers.

“Go back a little. Ask yourself a basic question about network health. “You guys talked nonstop about the Russia hoax,” Vance said.

Tapper defended CNN, saying, “The FBI investigated the matter. The FBI was investigating the matter, so we reported it.”

The candidate pointed his finger and responded, “And so you took the words of unnamed FBI agents and put them on your network as if they were gospel truth.”

“They did it again and again,” he continued, calling the collusion allegations “false.”

“No,” replied the journalist. “What you just said is wrong. We reported on an FBI investigation. I don’t know why you want to talk about the FBI investigation.”

Vance didn't budge, insisting: “You covered it in a way that gave credence to the accusations from anonymous sources.” You did it yourself. Your network did it, Jake.”

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Although Tapper denied Vance's allegations in her interview, he continued to cover the Russiagate narrative for years until special counsel John Durham concluded in his 2023 investigative report that the FBI “failed to fulfill its mission of strict fidelity to the law” in carrying it out.

This report came four years after Special Counsel Robert Mueller completed his investigation into Trump-Russia collusion, which found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.

As their interview continued, Vance asked Tapper if they could talk about Trump's policies rather than things he had allegedly said.

“But again, can we talk about issues that matter most to Americans?” he asked.

Tapper fired back: “I'm talking about things that Donald Trump has said… If you have a problem with whether or not he talks enough about the economy, that's between you and your vice president. I'm talking about things he said this week.”

Vance further told Tapper: “It seems to you that Donald Trump’s past is more important than the future of the American people.”

Brooke Singman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

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