Overview

• CNN presented an “exclusive” State of the Union exchange with President Trump conducted via text, read on air by Jake Tapper.
• On The Last Word, Lawrence O’Donnell argued CNN cannot prove Trump authored the replies, saying viewers “have no idea who texted the replies.”
• O’Donnell criticized missing transparency on how long responses took and which additional questions went unanswered.
• He cited Tapper’s contribution to Alex Thompson’s 2025 book about Joe Biden to allege a double standard in Tapper’s handling of candidates.
• O’Donnell framed the texts—including replies on the Israel–Hamas deal and the shutdown—as evidence of what he called Trump’s decline, and no rebuttal from CNN or Tapper was included in the coverage.