CNN’s Tapper criticizes those taking down posters of ‘kidnapped kids’

CNN anchor Jake Tapper criticized people in the United States who have torn down posters of hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

“I’m really struck by something we’ve seen over the last 30 days or so,” Tapper said as he interviewed White House spokesman John Kirby Monday on his afternoon newscast, saying some “loud voices” in America are “actually rooting for the hostage takers.”

“And we see these images seemingly every day of Americans ripping down posters of kidnapped kids,” Tapper said, asking for Kirby’s thoughts. He added, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“It’s hard for me when I see images like that to think about this individual ripping down this poster going home and feeling good about what they did,” Kirby responded. “Frankly, they ought to be mourning the loss, the theft of their own dignity, their own integrity of doing something like that. I mean these victims, these hostages, they didn’t ask for this.”

Since the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas has been holding a number of hostages in Gaza, some of whom are believed to be young children.

As part of demonstrations against the war in the United States, some supportive of the Palestinian cause have torn down missing persons posters of the hostages taken by Hamas.

Israel has been carrying out airstrikes in Gaza and fighting with Hamas in the region which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians and sparked calls from some activists and Democratic lawmakers for a ceasefire in the region.

In recent days, Israeli forces have closed in on the Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza which is the enclave’s largest medical center, which Israel says Hamas is using as an operational headquarters.

President Biden on Monday urged Israel to take “less intrusive” action on the hospital complex.

“Also there is an effort to get this pause to deal with the release of prisoners and that’s being negotiated,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “So I remain somewhat hopeful, but hospitals must be protected.”