CHICAGO — There's a golden rule for Democratic National Convention personnel tending the official press filing centers this week: leave the media luminaries alone.
“It’s easy to get star struck," a convention official who introduced himself as "Tom" said Sunday as he toured a couple dozen excited press logistics volunteers through the Chicago Bulls practice facility, which is doubling this week as a makeshift office for journalists. "They’re here to work and so are we. Don’t be all uncool.”
Everyone laughed.
One woman, however, persisted.
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“What about Jake Tapper? We have to get directions to where Jake Tapper is!" she said of the longtime CNN journalist with a decidedly half-joking tone.
“Don’t bother Jake Tapper," Tom deadpanned.
Press logistics volunteers for the Democratic National Convention receive pre-convention instructions during a tour of the Chicago Bulls' basketball training facility, which is doubling as a media filing center. The Democratic National Convention takes place from Aug. 19, 2024, through Aug. 22, 2024, at the adjacent United Center in Chicago. (Dave Levinthal / Raw Story)
But Tapper, who hosts weekday program "The Lead with Jake Tapper" and co-hosts Sunday public affairs show "State of the Union," indicated he won't be reporting from Chicago from some ivory television tower.
“Always happy to say hi to convention volunteers!" Tapper told Raw Story on Sunday. "We’re nothing without our viewers."
Tapper, already a nationally known media figure, has played an outsized role during the 2024 presidential election.
In June, Tapper and CNN colleague Dana Bash co-moderated the presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, which proved to be one of the most consequential in modern political history.
Biden's disastrous performance led to the president's withdrawal from the race and Vice President Kamala Harris' ascendance to the top of the ticket.
As for Tom, a young man in a black polo shirt, he politely declined comment and directed Raw Story's questions about the Democratic National Committee's volunteer protocols to the convention press office, which did not immediately respond on Sunday.
