Jake Tapper drew criticism from some viewers on Sunday after CNN aired a special Father’s Day edition of State of the Union featuring a lineup that quickly became a talking point online.
For the holiday program, Tapper conducted pre-taped interviews for CNN‘s State of the Union program,
speaking with Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Kelly and Republicans Tim Scott and Mitt Romney about their personal perspectives on fatherhood.
While the segment was intended to highlight different family experiences, Tapper’s choice of guests prompted a wave of puzzled reactions from viewers.
Scott’s inclusion, in particular, raised eyebrows because he does not have biological children of his own.
‘Tim Scott? Jake how low you have fallen,’ one person wrote in response to the segment.
‘Tim Scott does not have any children. What the heck,’ another viewer posted.
Scott, who was long known as a bachelor, became a stepfather after marrying Mindy Noce, an interior designer and mother of three, nearly two years ago.
‘Tim Scott has step kiddies that he obtained recently when he got married. However, that doesn’t make him an expert on fatherhood, Jake. What are you doing here, bro?’ another frustrated viewer wrote.
Jake Tapper caught the ire of several perplexed viewers on Sunday with his choice of guests for the channel’s special Father’s Day programming
Romney shared with Tapper that he takes a lot of inspiration from his father George
Tapper spoke to Kelly about his ‘violent’ father – another part of the show that drew criticism.
‘So, for Happy Father’s Day, Jake Tapper and CNN decide to… have Mark Kelly on… to talk about his abusive father. Very strange choice,’ one viewer wrote.
Kelly, who shares two daughters, Claudia and Claire, with his first wife, Amelia Victoria Babis, whom he divorced in 2004 before marrying former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in 2007, shared a much less rosy picture of his own father, whom he described to Tapper as abusive.
Kelly described his father as a ‘complex’ figure who would get into fights with his mother, and ‘sometimes would get rather violent,’ including one incident he recalled of his father dragging his mother across the floor.
Recalling an incident of his father drawing a gun and pointing it in his mouth, Kelly shared that at the time, his biggest fear was losing his dad, not being hurt himself.
Kelly also revealed to Tapper that his mother would send him down the road to his grandparents’ house, as it was a ‘sanctuary’ for himself and his identical twin brother, Scott Kelly.
Kelly was not the only one who blocked out part of the impact that his father had on his life. Tim Scott told Tapper that he viewed his own father through ‘rose-colored glasses.’
Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts who was the GOP nominee for President in 2012 and later a US Senator for Utah, shared with Tapper that he takes inspiration from his own father George, who was also a governor and served as the US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Reflecting on time he spent with his dad, Romney noted that he would ‘give it all,’ for another chat with his father.
Kelly revealed to Tapper that his mother would send him down the road to his grandparents’ house, as it was a ‘sanctuary ‘ for himself and his identical twin brother, Scott Kelly
Scott, a longtime bachelor, became a stepfather after marrying Mindy Noce, an interior designer and mother of three
Scott, a longtime bachelor, became a stepfather after marrying Mindy Noce, an interior designer and mother of three.
The South Carolina senator shared on Sunday an insightful point of view that he received when he became a father to adult children.
‘My pastor told me when I got married, he said, listen, you’re marrying the mother, you’re not marrying the kids. They’re not asking you to be their father. You have to earn the right to have influence in their lives… That has served me really well,’ Scott noted.
During a Fox News interview in June of 2024, Noce described her bond with Scott as one that was ‘heaven-sent.’
Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt then asked Noce how she knew Scott was ‘the one.’ ‘God shows you the path,’ Noce responded.
Noce added that she ignores critics who say they got married because he was a presidential nominee and are ‘upset he is a black man.’
