Jake Tapper on how his political agnosticism has defined "The Lead"

In the two months since the show launched, it has become clear that Tapper has been able to translate the bipartisan praise he received as ABC News’ senior White House correspondent to his work on The Lead. He has managed to walk the tightrope of impartiality in his reporting as a host just as he did when he was questioning the President of the United States and his advisors from his seat in the James Brady Briefing Room.

Tapper says that he has earned the trust of both conservative and liberal viewers by striving to remain as “agnostic as possible politically.”

“I really try to find things that are new, interesting and under-covered – underreported,” Tapper said. “I think drones, Benghazi are legitimate stories. I think asking questions about reading Tsarnaev his rights and mirandizing him are legitimate questions to ask. I think coverage of [Kermit] Gosnell in Philadelphia is legitimate and interesting.”

“It’s gratifying to be praised by people on the right and the left in this media environment, but the truth of the matter is that even if they were criticizing me, I’d be doing the same show,” Tapper asserted.