Jake Tapper calls Trump event a 'political Rick-roll'

CNN anchor Jake Tapper called Donald Trump’s decision to trot out an array of military medal winners before addressing his long-held questions about President Barack Obama’s birth a “political Rick-roll.”

Trump’s campaign had promised that he would once and for all address the “birther” issue at Friday’s rally, hosted in his newly-opened Pennsylvania Avenue hotel. But after opening remarks from the Manhattan billionaire in which he bragged about the new property, Trump turned the microphone over to a parade of veterans who have endorsed him.


After roughly 20 minutes of remarks from the veterans, CNN cut away to anchors Kate Bouldan and John Berman for an interview with Tapper, who likened the veterans’ speeches to the popular internet prank, in which online video viewers are tricked into watching the music video of Rick Astley’s 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

“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,” Tapper said.

Once the veterans finished speaking, Trump eventually returned to the microphone for unusually brief comments. He incorrectly accused Hillary Clinton of launching the “birther” movement and confirmed that he now believes the president was born in the U.S. after years of suggesting otherwise.

“Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it. I finished it,” he said. “You know what I mean. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period.”