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Lawmakers toast Jake Tapper's new CNN show
Jake Tapper wasn’t the only one celebrating the premiere of his new CNN show, “The Lead,” on Monday — so was a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), along with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), were among the packed crowd that turned out at Massachusetts Avenue eatery Sixth Engine to support the former ABC journalist’s turn behind the anchor desk.
“What’s cool is to have Gillibrand and Thune, because that’s what we want the show to be. We want everybody to feel like they can come to the show and they can have a fair shake,” Tapper told ITK.
Thune, who was smiling broadly despite sporting a medical boot on his right foot as he recovers from plantar fasciitis, hobbled into the festivities and exclaimed, “Big day, huh?”
Tapper, who penned a book last year about the war in Afghanistan, admitted he was “nervous” for the debut but thinks a certain memento may have given him a boost: “I wore cufflinks that were given to me by one of the soldiers in the book. They were West Point cufflinks. That was my good luck charm.”
Tapper added slyly, “We’ve got some more surprises up our sleeve.”
Also spotted at “The Lead” launch party: CNN President Jeff Zucker, former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart, CNN’s Dana Bash, House GOP aide Doug Heye, and Democratic strategists Hilary Rosen and Donna Brazile.
Photo: (from left) CNN's Jeff Zucker, Jake Tapper, and Ken Jautz / Credit: E.M. Pio Roda/CNN
