CNN’s Jake Tapper and Fox’s Sean Hannity have been feuding recently. On his show Monday night, Hannity decided to rally Twitter to his side, urging people to “tell Fake News Jake Tapper exactly what you think” of him.
Many followed Hannity’s instructions, flooding Twitter with their opinion of the CNN anchor.
But instead of painting Tapper in a negative light, most showered him with praise, one calling Tapper “my Beyoncé,” another saying he is the “bomb dot com” who “actually knows the difference between fact and fantasy.”
Tapper, apparently enjoying the moment, retweeted dozens of messages lauding him, many of which also included digs at Hannity.
“Aww. @seanhannity wants us to tweet how we feel about @jaketapper. Gladly! Jake is one of my favorites! Love him and love CNN!” tweeted one user.
“Dear @seanhannity, @jaketapper has shown himself to be a true journalist and not a shrill for 45, unlike you. That’s what I think,” tweeted another.
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“hey @seanhannity since you asked @jaketapper is my favorite journalist and someone I look up to very much, always stays true to the facts,” tweeted a third.
Here are some more:
are we tweeting at @seanhannity about what a wingding he is and how we very much enjoy and respect @jaketapper? Consider that my submission.
— Barrett Tomek (@BarrettTomek) July 25, 2017Tapper also added his own note.
Of course, there were some who insulted Tapper, which seemed to be Hannity’s intent, but they were few and far between.
At least one person noticed the absurdity.
I miss the good old days when Cronkite tweeted mean things to Dan Rather.
— Wind tunnel (@Windtunneltaco) July 25, 2017The journalistic feud stretches back to at least last Friday, when Tapper wrote a story on CNN stating that Hannity was not going to receive the conservative Media Research Center’s William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence at a Sept. 21 gala, even though the center previously announced he would.
Tapper didn’t hold back, writing:
Buckley, the founder of the National Review, who died in 2008, was hailed in his day as “arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States.” Giving an award in his name to Hannity — a pugnacious talk radio host who has shared conspiracy theories on his popular cable news show — had caused hand wringing among some conservatives.
It also caused distress among Buckley’s family — in particular his only child, best-selling author Christopher Buckley.
A source familiar with the situation tells CNN that Christopher Buckley “expressed great dismay” at the announcement that the award would go to Hannity, who has spent a great deal of time insulting conservative intellectuals on Twitter, particularly since he became a strong supporter of Donald Trump.
Tapper’s story also stated that “MRC leadership discussed ways to allow Hannity to save face by acting as if a scheduling conflict would prevent him from accepting the award.”
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While Tapper cited anonymous individuals for his story, prominent conservatives have certainly publicly decried the mere thought of Hannity receiving such a prestigious award. In a New York Times essay titled “Sean Hannity Is No William F. Buckley,” neoconservative columnist Bret Stephens wrote:
If we have reached the point where rank-and-file conservatives see nothing amiss with giving Hannity an award named for Buckley, then surely there’s a Milton Friedman Prize awaiting Stephen K. Bannon for his insights on free trade. And maybe Sean Spicer can receive the Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent for his role in exposing “fake news.” The floor’s the limit.
Or, in Hannity’s case, the crawl space beneath it.
Hannity loudly and brashly denied Tapper’s report in tweets, in which he dubbed Tapper “Fake News Jake,” claiming he turned down the coveted award because of a scheduling conflict.
President of the Media Research Center Brent Bozell said in a statement that the center “chose not to hand out the award this year” after Hannity said he couldn’t attend.
“Hey Fake News Jake, I was offered an award, I was unable to attend, and I respectfully turned it down,” Hannity said in a tweet that was liked more than 12,000 times and retweeted nearly 5,000 times.
Share this articleShareThen, he kept going.
Tapper swiftly responded, characterizing Hannity’s tweets as attacks.
1) deny accurate report; attack journalist
2) attack folks who protested his getting the award
3) attack all awards https://t.co/H096DQrHkm
Hannity responded in kind.
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