Hunter Biden has made no secret of his dislike for CNN anchor Jake Tapper, and during a recent interview with former CNN host Don Lemon, he made his feelings unmistakably clear.
Tapper was one of the authors of the 2025 book “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” which examined concerns about former President Joe Biden’s health and his decision to seek another term.
During Wednesday’s episode of Lemon’s podcast, Hunter Biden criticized Tapper’s journalism and attacked him on a personal level. His comments included several expletives.
About 30 minutes into the interview, Lemon asked whether Hunter Biden and Tapper had once been friends.
“No,” Biden answered, although he said he had known Tapper for roughly 25 years.
Lemon then asked what he thought of Tapper’s book. Biden did not soften his response.
“Look, here’s what I’d like to say about that,” he began, before calling Tapper “a complete and utter a**hole” and “a really poor journalist.”
His criticism did not stop with Tapper’s work.
“And beyond that,” Biden continued, “I don’t think he’s a very decent human being. As a person, I don’t like Jake.”
Biden acknowledged that people in public life often give diplomatic answers when discussing journalists or political opponents. He said he had no interest in doing that.
“I think he’s full of f***ing s***,” Biden said. “That’s what I think.”
He later explained that his anger was personal, pointing to Tapper’s previous coverage and comments about him and members of his family.
“What Jake espoused and has continued, and the way that he has spoken about me, the way he has spoken about my mother, the way that he has spoken about my father,” Biden said, made it impossible for him to offer the kind of polite response people might expect.
He mocked the idea that he should publicly praise Tapper’s career or acknowledge any positive work the journalist may have done in the past.
“You know what? I don’t have to say that,” Biden added. “I’m not running for anything.”
Biden described his feelings toward Tapper as a “real personal grievance.”
When Lemon asked what he would say if Tapper were sitting in front of him, Biden replied that he would repeat exactly what he had already said. He then looked directly into the camera and addressed Tapper by name.
“Jake, I do not like you,” he said. “I don’t like you at all. And I have a whole host of reasons why. And that’s final.”
The full interview is available online, though viewers should be aware that it contains strong language. The discussion involving Tapper begins at approximately the 29-minute, 50-second mark.
Hunter Biden’s remarks echoed comments previously made by his father.
In May 2025, Joe Biden responded sharply when reporters asked him about the book written by Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson.
“You can see that I’m mentally incompetent, I can’t walk — and I can beat the hell out of both of them,” the former president said with a smile, according to The Hill.
Hunter Biden had also criticized Tapper during a July 2025 interview, questioning how much influence the CNN anchor actually had.
“What influence does Jake Tapper have over anything?” he asked. “He has the smallest audience on cable news.”
Hunter Biden also claimed that Tapper’s ratings declined after the book was released.
“His rating just went to s*** after he put the book out,” he said.
Tapper co-authored “Original Sin” after years of reporting on the Biden administration, including earlier coverage in which critics say he pushed back against concerns about the former president’s age and cognitive condition.
