Earlier this week, Megyn Kelly welcomed Jake Tapper to her show for an interview about his new book on former President Joe Biden. It was, at times, contentious, and subsequently went viral.
During an appearance on Mark Halperin’s podcast, Kelly shared the strategy behind her interview with Jake Tapper.
“I did go back and forth on how I should start it,” Kelly said. “Should I start it by getting into the facts of the book, or should I start it by really pushing him on whether he’s the right messenger? I knew I had to get to pushing him on whether he’s the right messenger, that that could not be sacrificed … that made sense to me.”
Kelly noted that she was somewhat limited in the time she would have with Tapper due to the nature of her SiriusXM show.
She also shared that she and Tapper are friends, adding an extra layer to the interview.
“We’re not like tight friends, but we’re friends. We’ve been friendly — I guess is a better way of saying it — for some 15 years. Now, I’ve never done anything social with Jake, but we like each other, so it was kind of awkward. In the booking process, he and I had been in touch, and that I was going to push him. He told me before the interview he wanted that because he wanted to answer the tough questions for all of his skeptics. So I felt like we were on good ground for me to go for it.”
During the interview, Jake Tapper called Kelly’s questions “tough but fair,” while the SiriusXM host told the CNN anchor that “One of us didn’t miss the biggest story of the century when it comes to presidential politics, and one of us did.”
In “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” which Tapper co-authored with Alex Thompson, questions about Biden’s decision to run for re-election in 2024, as well as his mental acuity, are called into question.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
