The Lead with Jake Tapper

CNN Podcasts 3741 - Trump Drags Down GOP with 48 Days to Go Until Midterms

CNN's lead DC anchor and chief Washington correspondent, Jake Tapper, hosts this two-hour long weekday afternoon program, with headlines from around the country and the world, the top stories in national and international news, politics, health, money, the environment, sports and popular culture. The Lead also concentrates on bringing stories that aren't found on front pages—buried leads—to the forefront.

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Episodes

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07 Sep 2026

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01 Aug 2026

3706-

Biden announces new measures to ease supply chain crisis; Analysis: vaccine could’ve prevented 90k deaths this summer; UNC Chapel Hill cancels classes to address campus suicides; “Star Trek” star makes William Shatner makes history as oldest person in sp

13 Oct 2021

3705-

Trump falsely claims he won the Arizona “fraudit”; Pushes Texas to conduct similar election review; Biden: meeting with lawmakers tonight ahead of crucial votes; Thousands of New York heath care workers could be fired today as the vaccine mandate goes int

27 Sep 2021

3704-

Official: Biden to require vaccines for federal employees, ask many private businesses to mandate shots or testing; First flight leaves Kabul airport after Taliban cleared Americans & others to leave the country; CNN finds new campaign of torture, detenti

09 Sep 2021

3703-

State Dept: up to 1,500 Americans still may need evacuation; U.S. concerned about possible ISIS-K attacks on Kabul airport crowds; Report: 180k+ pediatric Covid cases, surge 4x in one month; Thousands evacuated as California fire engulfs more than 120k ac

25 Aug 2021

3702-

CDC advisory panel recommends third vaccine dose for those with weakened immune systems; Pentagon: U.S. troops on the way to Afghanistan; WH facing multiple crises: Afghanistan, covid, immigration & more; Three teachers in Broward County, FL die of covid

13 Aug 2021

3701-

Covid spread sharply accelerates, topping 100k new daily cases; Feud escalates between White House, FL Gov over restrictions; New details reveal extent of Trump’s push to overturn election; California mountain town decimated by state’s 6th largest wildfir

05 Aug 2021

3700-

CDC reveals breakthrough infection data behind new mask guidance ;CDC: “The war has changed” with highly-contagious delta variant; CDC internal document: those vaccinated could spread delta variant as much as those unvaccinated; Nearly 170 new covid pat

30 Jul 2021

3699-

V.A. heath care workers, New York City & California state employees all now facing vaccine mandates; Trump ally Tom Barrack pleads not guilty to charges of illegal foreign lobbying and making false statements; Infrastructure deal on shaky ground as blame

26 Jul 2021

3698-

Vaccination rates down 41% from last week; Biden makes his case for $3.5 trillion in new spending; Admin: Afghans to be flown out by end of July, not clear where; New book reveals how much Facebook knew about Russian election interference & how little the

14 Jul 2021

3697-

White House rebuts Pfizer on need for booster shots soon ; Pfizer says booster shots are needed soon; CDC & FDA disagree; Covid Cases up in 29 states, 11% spike across U.S. in one week; Los Angeles County; ”Exponential Growth” in covid cases, up a stagge

09 Jul 2021

3696-

Study: Five clusters with low vaccination rates now potential breeding grounds for more deadly variants; Biden: U.S. set to complete war in Afghanistan by August 31; Surfside disaster turns from rescue to recovery; TX GOP resumes push for voting restricti

08 Jul 2021

3695-

U.S. Troops leave Afghanistan's Bagram air base after 20 years; 20 confirmed dead, 128 unaccounted for as rescue effort enters day 9; GOP Leader McCarthy joins Biden at WH to celebrate L.A. Dodgers; CDC Dir: Nearly all covid deaths in past 6 months were u

02 Jul 2021

3694-

18 dead and 145 still missing 8 days after condo collapse; Trump Org CFO indicted on 15 counts, alleged 15-year scheme; Biden speaks after meeting with Surfside families; Speaker Pelosi appoints GOP Rep. Liz Cheney to serve on select committee to investig

01 Jul 2021

3693-

Biden Calls Infrastructure Deal A “True Bipartisan Effort”; Biden: No Guarantee Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Will Pass; Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Totals $1.2T Spending over 8 Years; Biden says bipartisan infrastructure deal will move through congre

24 Jun 2021

3692-

DOJ releasing new insurrection videos as part of investigation; Biden commemorates 300 million COVID shots in 150 days; Still no vaccine for U.K. kids as Delta variant surges; Iran to elect new president amid nuclear talks with U.S.; As U.S. reopens, citi

18 Jun 2021

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Episodes

Trump Drags Down GOP with 48 Days to Go Until Midterms

Senators Question Patel on Midterms, FBI’s 2020 Election Probe

Trump Dismisses AI Concerns as a “Hoax”

25 Years After 9/11: The Cost of Leaders’ Decisions

Anthropic Issues Report on Blocking “Threat Actors” Using Claude

Ex-Anthropic Employee: A.I. Could “Kill Us All” by End of Decade

Justice Dept Issues Subpoenas for Nevada Voter Data

NTSB: Plane Hit Van Carrying 7 People After Leaving Runway

Clancy Defense Attorney: Jurors Robbed by “Lone Holdout”

Clancy Defense Atty: One Juror “Refuses to Listen to the Law”

Lindsay Clancy Jury Remains Deadlocked

DHS Plans to Launch Voter Fraud Investigation Surge

Two Dead, 15 Others May Be Missing in Grand Canyon Flash Flood

570+ Dead, 2,500 Missing in Nepal-China Flood

Trump Signs Order Renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America”

Unstoppable Floodwaters in Nepal & China Kill more than 150 People

Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Dies at 80

Supreme Court Backs Trump’s Order to Curb Mail Ballots

The Atlantic: NPS Changed the Way it Prioritizes Projects to Expedite Trump’s Requests

Michael Cohen Interviews Trump Years After Dramatic Falling-Out

Study: New Treatment Cuts Recurrence Speed of Melanoma

Republicans Confront Growing Midterm Peril as Iran War Drags On

Trump Says North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Responded to Call for Talks

Special Bonus - Introducing: Civilian or Spy

Wife of U.S. Service Member Aboard USS Lincoln Speaks Out

Sailor Went Overboard amid Reports of Poor Ship Conditions

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Leaving White House

Darline Graham Fights for Her Brother’s Seat in SC Senate Primary

Executive Order on Childhood Vaccines

Sources: Trump’s Top General Looking for a U.S. Off-Ramp from Conflict

Senate Panel Votes to Hold Fauci in Contempt of Congress

El-Sayed Wins Michigan Senate Democratic Primary

Rep. Max Miller Under Pressure to Resign Amid Abuse Allegations

Blanche Rescinds Anti-Weaponization Fund but Loopholes Remain

Polls Sink; Trump: U.S. in “Golden Age”