Jacob Paul Tapper is an American journalist. He is the lead Washington anchor for CNN, hosts the weekday television news show The Lead with Jake Tapper, and co-hosts the Sunday morning public affairs program State of the Union.
At CNN, Tapper has won numerous journalism awards, including Emmy Awards in 2023 and in 2024. TheWrap described him as "perhaps the network's most respected anchor". In September 2015, the Republican primary debate moderated by Tapper, and including Donald Trump, drew more than 23 million viewers, making it the most-watched program in the history of CNN and the second-most watched primary debate ever. He also moderated the Republican presidential debate in Miami on March 10, 2016, which drew almost 12 million viewers, and according to Variety, "garnered acclaim for its substance". On June 27, 2024, Tapper co-moderated a debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump that was seen by more than 51 million viewers and influenced Biden's subsequent decision to end his 2024 presidential campaign.
Before joining CNN, Tapper worked for ABC News as senior White House correspondent, where he received three Merriman Smith Memorial Awards from the White House Correspondents' Association. Tapper contributed to the coverage of the inauguration of President Obama that earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Coverage of a Current News Story. He was also part of a team that was awarded an Edward R. Murrow Award for Video: Breaking News for "Target bin Laden: The Death of Public Enemy #1".
Tapper is the author of several books, including The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, which debuted at number 10 in November 2012 on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardback non-fiction. Tapper's book and his reporting on veterans and troops were cited when the Congressional Medal of Honor Society awarded him the "Tex" McCrary Award for Excellence in Journalism.
