A longstanding conflict between Hunter Biden and CNN anchor Jake Tapper has come into the spotlight during the promotional activities for Tapper’s contentious book on former President Joe Biden’s mental health issues. The disagreement involves claims that Tapper persistently reached out to Hunter Biden while his brother Beau was dying at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, followed by a tense exchange at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The issue gained attention following Dylan Byers’ report in Puck detailing frictions between Tapper and the Biden family during the release of “Original Sin,” a book Tapper co-wrote with Axios correspondent Alex Thompson. The book delves into allegations of a cover-up concerning the former president’s cognitive abilities in his later years in office.
Several sources close to the Biden family report that Tapper made numerous phone calls to Hunter Biden in the final days of May 2015 while Beau Biden was dying from brain cancer at Walter Reed. Beau was admitted to the facility on May 20, 2015, due to a recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme, and passed away ten days later on May 30, 2015, at the age of 46.
During this period, Hunter Biden ignored Tapper’s initial calls to his cellphone. When Tapper allegedly called from a blocked number, Hunter answered, unaware of the caller’s identity. Sources present recall Hunter’s response when Tapper reportedly asked him to call when Beau died: “Go f*** yourself, Jake.”
The conflict escalated nearly three years later at Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When Tapper approached Hunter Biden to shake hands at the event, Biden reportedly warned that he would physically confront Tapper if they were not in a public setting. Multiple witnesses described the incident as intense enough to cause discomfort among other guests in the VIP suite.
Hunter Biden confirmed these events in a recent interview with Breaker Media, stating that it would be impossible to forget or misremember such a distressing moment during a difficult time in his life. He emphasized that the event occurred exactly as described and that he remained upset about it during his encounter with Tapper at the Super Bowl.
Tapper has denied Hunter Biden’s account of the events. In statements to both Puck and Breaker Media, Tapper asserted he never contacted Hunter Biden and claimed he never had his phone number. The CNN anchor described the allegations as a “patently false lie” and stated he would never reach out to a family member during such a challenging personal time.
However, Tapper acknowledged that Hunter Biden did confront him at a Super Bowl event, though he said the confrontation was about unrelated reporting regarding divorce allegations and drug use that Hunter mistakenly believed Tapper had covered. Tapper maintained he never reported those specific allegations about Hunter Biden.
Investigation into Tapper’s past coverage shows he did discuss Hunter Biden’s alleged drug use during a CNN segment in October 2014, contradicting his recent denials. This inconsistency has added another dimension to the dispute between the two individuals.
Sources close to the Biden family described Hunter’s reaction to Tapper’s alleged calls as one of genuine anger. One person familiar with the situation indicated that Tapper’s approach appeared opportunistic, as if Hunter’s main concern while his brother was dying would be providing Tapper with an exclusive story. This source emphasized that Hunter was enraged by what he perceived as Tapper’s insensitive pursuit of a scoop during such a personal tragedy.
The conflict seems rooted in broader tensions between Tapper and the Biden family regarding media access. Sources suggest that Tapper had long been frustrated with limited access to Joe Biden during his presidency. This frustration reportedly peaked before Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address when CNN chose Erin Burnett instead of Tapper to attend an off-the-record White House briefing with network anchors.
According to two individuals familiar with the situation, Tapper had what sources described as a “meltdown” over being excluded from the briefing. He reportedly contacted White House officials with angry phone calls, with one recipient recalling Tapper stating, “I’m Jake Tapper and this is my network.”
Despite Tapper’s denials about the Walter Reed incident, he only interviewed Joe Biden once during his presidency, which sources say was another source of frustration for the CNN anchor. Tapper’s spokesperson attempted to discredit the allegations by pointing out that the Biden family subsequently offered Tapper interviews and agreed to have him co-moderate a 2024 presidential debate.
The feud has intensified during Tapper’s promotional tour for “Original Sin.” In a recent interview with Katie Couric on her “Next Question” podcast, Tapper launched a strong critique of Hunter Biden, calling him “provably, demonstrably unethical, sleazy and prone to horrible decisions.” Tapper specifically mentioned Hunter’s relationship with his brother’s widow after Beau’s death, claiming Hunter “cheated on his wife with his brother’s widow and then got her addicted to crack.”
Tapper and co-author Thompson have portrayed Hunter Biden as acting like the “chief of staff of the family” during Joe Biden’s presidency, exerting undue influence over White House decisions despite his personal challenges. They suggest that protecting Hunter from legal issues was a factor in Biden’s decision to run for re-election in 2024.
The Biden family has contested the book’s claims through various channels. Naomi Biden, Joe Biden’s granddaughter, publicly criticized Tapper and Thompson as “irresponsible self-promoting journalists” who relied on “unnamed, anonymous sources pushing a self-serving false narrative.” Former President Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden have made media appearances to counter the book’s narrative.
The timing of this feud’s public emergence aligns with increased scrutiny of Tapper’s past coverage of Biden’s cognitive abilities. Critics have questioned whether Tapper adequately reported on concerns about Biden’s mental state during his presidency, given the explosive allegations now contained in his book about an alleged cover-up.
This dispute represents more than a personal conflict between two prominent figures. It raises broader questions about journalistic ethics, access journalism, and the appropriate boundaries between reporters and the families of public officials during times of personal crisis. The allegations, if true, would represent a significant breach of journalistic standards regarding contact with grieving family members.
