Politics
Jake Tapper Scorched For Jaw-Dropping Defense Of Trans Shooter
Jake Tapper one-upped his CNN colleagues on Tuesday, issuing a jaw-dropping defense of the Minnesota transgender shooter who killed children at a Catholic church before taking his own life.
The liberal network came under fire early on Wednesday after a correspondent claimed that Robin Westman, the 23-year-old gunman, used “semiautomatic” guns capable of shooting “dozens of bullets” per second. Critics immediately called out CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez for his description of automatic weapons, which are mostly illegal in the U.S.
Not to be outdone, Tapper took a bizarre moment out of his broadcast to clarify that the deceased Westman preferred to be referred to with female pronouns.
“There’s been some confusion about what the shooter’s name was,” Tapper told a guest.
“Robin Westman’s mother applied to change her child’s name in 2019. It was, at one point, Robert.”
The CNN anchor then went on to describe Westman, a biological male, as “her” throughout his broadcast, echoing other mainstream news reports that focused on Westman’s preferred pronouns without devoting much coverage to reports suggesting Westman battled severe mental illness.
“But since she identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification and was underage, it’s now Robin,” Tapper added.
WATCH:
Shortly after the shooting, a video time-released on YouTube appeared to show Westman displaying multiple firearms that carried anti-Trump and anti-religious slogans. One referenced the Joker, the villain from the Batman franchise, and his unforgettable catchphrase: “Why so serious?”
“I’m the Woker Baby. Why So Queerious?” read the message, which was drawn in white pen on a gun magazine.
Critics immediately pounded on Tapper for his deferential attitude toward Westman’s gender pronouns after the transgender shooter killed two children and sent 17 more to the hospital with serious gunshot wounds.
“We actually don’t have to respect the demon’s pronouns,” one X user wrote.
Another pointed to a page in Westman’s manifesto, where in Cyrillic he appeared to express regret about changing genders.
“I am sick of my hair, I want to chop it off. I only keep it because it is pretty much my last charade of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself,” the page reads. “I can’t cut my hair off now as it would be an embarrassing defeat, and it might be a concerning change of character that could get me reported.”
“Someone tells (sic) him the gunman was abhorrent of his new gender,” another user wrote about Tapper.


Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated late Wednesday that authorities are working to determine an official motive for Westman’s actions, although the online video appeared to suggest he targeted Catholics and held a hatred of President Donald Trump.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the administration will be investigating the shooting as a hate crime directed at Catholics.
