Jake Tapper Confronts Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves Over COVID Death Rate: 'Your Way Is Failing'

CNN host Jake Tapper confronted Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves over his state's high COVID-19 death rate on Sunday, telling him the way he has managed the pandemic "is failing."

Mississippi has the highest COVID-19 death rate in the United States at 310 deaths per 100,000 people, according to data from The New York Times. If Mississippi were its own country, it would have the second-highest deaths per capita—only surpassed by Peru, which has reported 612 deaths per 100,000 people.

Tapper presented this data to Reeves on the CNN program State of the Union, asking if the Republican governor planned to change his response to the pandemic given the high number of deaths.

"With all due respect, governor, your way is failing," Tapper said. "Are you going to try to change anything to change this horrible statistic from what you're doing already?"

Reeves defended his COVID-19 policies, saying that cases peaked in August and have quickly declined. He said he expects the number of people dying from the virus to decline soon, as that number typically follows the number of new cases.

"We saw a very quick spike, and now we're seeing a very, very quick decline in the total number of cases," Reeves said.

From August 17-19, Mississippi reported its highest 7-day average of new cases since the start of the pandemic at 3,586 per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Since then, that number has dropped to 1,817 on Saturday.

Tapper again asked if Reeves plans to change anything about the way he is handling the pandemic in Mississippi. Reeves responded that he encourages people to talk with their doctor about getting vaccinated, although he also believes in personal responsibility. He also said people who have become ill with the virus should consult with their doctor about the monoclonal antibody treatment.

He pointed out since cases peaked, many more Mississippians have gotten vaccinated. Just over 42 percent of the state has been fully vaccinated, a number that remains among the nation's lowest, according to the Johns Hopkins data.

Reeves also said that the focus should be on other states seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases, including Kentucky and West Virginia. He accused Tapper of trying to "make this about politics" by not asking about other states, some of which have Democratic governors. Tapper responded by saying he would not have a governor on to talk about other states.

There have been several reports of COVID-19 deaths in Mississippi in recent weeks, including eight unvaccinated pregnant women and a child who had not yet turned one.

Reeves said in August people in Mississippi are less scared of the virus because they "believe in eternal life."

Newsweek reached out to Reeves' office for comment Sunday. This story will be updated with any response.