CNN host Jake Tapper ripped Donald Trump on Friday for spending over 20 minutes promoting his hotel and veteran supporters before weighing in on a “major announcement” regarding his beliefs on President Barack Obama’s citizenship. Tapper likened the drawn out media exposure to being a bait and switch.
“While these American heroes are, you know, people that we should all show reverence and respect, they are much greater men than Rick Astley. It’s hard to imagine this as anything other than a political Rick-roll,” the “State of the Union” host told a CNN panel.
Tapper’s use of the term “rick-rolling” refers to the internet practice of tricking Internet users into thinking a link leads to something of interest or controversy but it really goes to the music video for the Rick Astley song “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
“The idea that we were told this was going to be Donald Trump addressing something that his top campaign advisers and many people in the Republican National Committee, want him to address and clear up… we were told he was going to do that,” Tapper said.
“They bring out a number of Medal of Honor recipients and military heroes instead. It was very clever on one level, on another level, it does speak to the integrity of the Trump campaign. They told us something was going to happen and it’s not happening.”
At the end of Trump’s event at his newly opened Trump hotel, he finally addressed the birther controversy.
“Hillary Clinton in her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Now we all want to get back to making America strong and great again,” remarked Trump.