Chuck Todd pushes back on Jake Tapper's ban of GOPers who challenged 2020 election: 'You've got to be careful'

CNN anchor Jake Tapper is facing even more resistance over his ban of GOP lawmakers who supported challenging the 2020 presidential election results, this time from his MSNBC counterpart and fellow Sunday show host Chuck Todd. 

During an interview with Mediaite published on Thursday, Todd was asked to weigh in on the controversy over Tapper's apparent blacklisting of pro-Trump Republicans he has deemed "election liars." 

"I think you’ve got to be careful of absolutes, right?" Todd said. "I feel like I have a compact with my viewers that they expect me to deliver them the information they need … You don’t know when somebody you think deserves to be banned is suddenly somebody that is, you know,  you’ve got to deal with. Because you may not like them, but they have the power, they’re the elected Speaker of the House or something like that … At the same time, I think you should protect your viewers from being gaslit."

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The "Meet the Press" moderator then divided politicians into three categories; "absurd, ridiculous, uninformed gaslighters," "professional hijackers" who want to fight and dominate the conversation- which he insisted should be interviewed "on tape" rather than live, and those who should be asked "accountability" questions. 

"I think you have to … have the guts to make those choices," Todd said. "It is about the deal you've cut with your viewers … I think there are some people who have made a deal with their viewers that they are going to speak for them, and that's what the viewers want from them. I have no criticism of that. That's their decision … But that's not the compact I made with my viewers. That's not the compact that we made in broadcast television, by the way. I think that all broadcast TV has to be careful of the B-word, of banning anybody." 

Chris Wallace, host of "Fox News Sunday," rejected the idea of banning any GOP lawmaker who opposed certifying President Biden's electoral victory and challenged the results of the 2020 election. 

"I don’t think moral posturing goes well with news gathering," Wallace told Politico. "There are plenty of people I would like to have on "Fox News Sunday" that voted to challenge the election — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy for one. And I don’t have any rule about what the first question has to be. I have asked plenty of guests about voting to challenge the election and about Trump’s role in the January 6th insurrection. But I cover the news, wherever that takes me." 

Even Tapper's own CNN colleague Jim Acosta rejected the "State of the Union" anchor's position.

"Well, I do think there [is] some use in interviewing them because I think they have to be challenged on their viewpoints," Acosta told Mediaite.

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The controversy began last month when Tapper repeatedly suggested that he refuses to invite any GOP lawmaker who fed into what he and other liberals have dubbed the "Big Lie," which is the narrative that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" from former President Donald Trump. His blacklist apparently included all three leaders of the House Republican caucus and anyone who challenged Biden's victory. 

However, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who Tapper suggested by name was banned from "The Lead" and "State of the Union," took to Twitter and revealed that the CNN star's staff had invited her onto his CNN programs just weeks prior, sharing screenshots of email exchanges her office had. 

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Tapper fired back at the congresswoman all while seeming to shift the blame on his bookers, one of whom promised Stefanik that she could chat with the CNN anchor by phone prior to committing.

"I can’t account for every email from my excellent bookers whose job it is to present me with as many options as possible," Tapper wrote. "I have just refused to allow any of the Liars, such as Rep Stefanik, on air. Kind of stunning to see her proudly identify as a conspiracy theorist."

Notably, Tapper appeared to cast doubt on the legitimacy of George W. Bush's 2000 presidential election victory with his book "Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency," which was panned at the time by CNN. 

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Critics slammed Tapper for not only throwing his staff "under the bus" but for also inviting guests like Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who claimed he had seen "evidence" of Russian collusion that never surfaced, Michael Avenatti, the Democratic-lawyer-turned-convicted-felon who touted a "gang rape" allegation against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation, and white nationalist Richard Spencer. 

Tapper has also repeatedly had on Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, who has repeatedly insisted her defeat at the hands of Republican Brian Kemp was rigged.