A longstanding conflict between Hunter Biden and CNN anchor Jake Tapper has gained public attention during the promotional activities for Tapper’s book on former President Joe Biden’s cognitive health. The disagreement involves claims that Tapper contacted Hunter Biden repetitively while his brother, Beau, was dying at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, followed by a tense incident at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The issue surfaced after Dylan Byers’ report in Puck on the strained relations between Tapper and the Biden family during the launch of “Original Sin,” a book co-authored by Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson. The book alleges a cover-up related to the former president’s mental capacity in his final years in office.
According to sources close to the Biden family, Tapper reached out to Hunter Biden several times in late May 2015, as Beau Biden was dying from brain cancer at Walter Reed. Beau, who was admitted on May 20, 2015, due to a glioblastoma multiforme recurrence, passed away ten days later on May 30, 2015, at the age of 46.
During this time, Hunter Biden initially ignored calls from Tapper on his cellphone. When Tapper allegedly called from a blocked number, Hunter answered unknowingly. Witnesses recall that when Tapper purportedly asked Hunter to call him when Beau died, Hunter responded, “Go (expletive) yourself, Jake.”
The situation escalated nearly three years later during Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When Tapper tried to greet Hunter Biden with a handshake, Hunter allegedly threatened physical violence if they were not in public. Witnesses noted that the altercation created discomfort among other guests in the VIP suite.
Hunter Biden confirmed these events in an interview with Breaker Media this week, asserting the accuracy of these accounts and expressing continuing anger over the incident at the Super Bowl.
Tapper has firmly rejected Hunter Biden’s account. In statements to both Puck and Breaker Media, Tapper asserted that he never called Hunter Biden and did not possess his phone number. He described the claims as a “patently false lie” and stated he would not contact a person’s family during such a sensitive period.
Tapper did acknowledge a confrontation with Hunter Biden at a Super Bowl event, attributing it to misunderstandings about Tapper’s coverage of divorce and drug allegations, which Tapper claims he did not report.
A review of Tapper’s past reporting shows he discussed Hunter Biden’s alleged drug use in an October 2014 CNN segment, contradicting his recent denials, adding complexity to the dispute.
Sources close to the Biden family describe Hunter’s reaction to Tapper’s alleged calls as one of significant anger, viewing Tapper’s actions as opportunistic during a personal tragedy.
The conflict appears to be tied to broader tensions over media access between Tapper and the Biden family. Tapper reportedly experienced frustration over limited access to Joe Biden during his presidency, a sentiment that intensified before Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address when CNN sent Erin Burnett instead of Tapper to a White House briefing.
According to sources, Tapper was upset about being excluded from the briefing, reportedly making angry calls to White House contacts.
Despite denying the Walter Reed incident, Tapper only interviewed Joe Biden once during his presidency, which sources say was another frustration for him. Tapper’s representative countered claims by noting that the Biden family offered Tapper interviews and allowed him to co-moderate a 2024 presidential debate.
The feud has intensified during Tapper’s “Original Sin” promotional tour. In a recent interview with Katie Couric on her “Next Question” podcast, Tapper criticized Hunter Biden, accusing him of unethical behavior and poor decisions, specifically referencing Hunter’s relationship with his brother’s widow after Beau’s death.
Tapper and Thompson depict Hunter Biden as having undue influence during Joe Biden’s presidency despite personal struggles, suggesting that protecting Hunter legally influenced Biden’s decision to run for re-election in 2024.
The Biden family has countered the book’s claims. Naomi Biden, Joe Biden’s granddaughter, criticized Tapper and Thompson as “irresponsible self-promoting journalists” relying on “unnamed, anonymous sources” pushing false narratives. Former President Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden have addressed the book’s narrative through media appearances.
The public emergence of this feud coincides with greater scrutiny of Tapper’s past coverage of Biden’s cognitive health, prompting questions about journalistic standards and ethics in reporting on public officials’ families during crises.
