CNN anchor Jake Tapper slammed Fox News’s Sean Hannity over reactions to President Biden’s State of the Union address.
Tapper took aim at Hannity’s anti-Biden rhetoric while breaking down the address, accusing him of altering his criticism of the president to serve the Republican narrative.
“Before the speech, Republicans were saying Biden was old, weak, gaffe-prone, senile, a pushover,” Tapper said during a CNN segment, showcased by Mediaite, before showing a clip of Hannity referring to the president during his speech to Congress as “jacked-up Joe.”
“Can Republicans have it both ways?” Tapper mused during the Friday night broadcast. “I mean, this also reminds me of the fact that they accuse him of being a dumb puppet fool and also this criminal mastermind. It just seems like, you’ve gotta pick a lane here, right?”
Hannity made several comments aimed at the president’s animated disposition Thursday evening during his post-address analysis, including calling it “so hyped-up and bizarre.”
He argued Biden’s speech stood in contrast to the president’s normal, everyday nature, accusing the incumbent of “overcompensating” during the speech.
The Fox News host was quick to respond on X, formerly known as twitter, calling him “Fake Jake.”
“Lol. @jaketapper Fake Jake are you really that dumb?” he wrote Friday evening. “OK. Let’s play, game on. Tune in to radio and TV Monday. I’ll gladly educate you. If you still have a job Monday.”
The exchange comes as Republicans have made Biden’s age and mental acuity a rallying point heading into the 2024 presidential election, saying he’s too old to serve another four years. Those claims were only exacerbated by a scathing report from special counsel Robert Hur that painted him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”
The president has recently pushed back on the claims, even poking fun at them during his address to Congress.
“You got to take a look at the other guy, he’s about as old as I am,” Biden, 81, said last month on NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” referring to former President Trump, 77, his likely opponent in November.
Republicans have also targeted Biden over the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, which have become the center of their impeachment push. Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee recently invited the younger Biden to testify publicly before Congress on March 20.
Both Bidens have criticized the efforts, with Hunter Biden recently referring to it as a “baseless and destructive political charade.”