Jim Acosta’s nonstop mouth finally got him in trouble.
The White House finally banned the imperious CNN “reporter” yesterday after a ridiculous performance during a news conference where he refused to shut up, then put his hands on a White House intern who tried to take away his microphone.
Acosta, whose lame questions are undisguised left-wing and Democratic talking points, has lied at least twice about what occurred.
Unsurprisingly, the leftist media is mewling uncontrollably.
The Exchange
The exchange was the usual, with Acosta not asking questions but debating with the president about policies leftist Acosta doesn’t like (video below):
Acosta: Mr. President. I wanted to challenge you on one of the statements that you made in the tail end of the campaign in the midterms, that this —
Trump: Here we go.
Acosta: Well, if you don’t mind, Mr. President —
Trump: Let’s go. Let’s go. Come on.
Acosta: That this caravan was an “invasion.” As you know, Mr. President —
Trump: I consider it to be an invasion.
Acosta: The caravan was not an invasion. It’s a group of migrants moving up from Central America towards the border with the U.S.
Trump: Thank you for telling me that. I appreciate it.
Acosta: Why did you characterize it as such? And —
Trump: Because I consider it an invasion. You and I have a difference of opinion.
Acosta: But do you think that you demonized immigrants in this election —
Trump: Not at all. No, not at all.
Then Acosta bemoaned the now-famous ad that accurately depicts “migrants” storming through border barriers:
Acosta: They’re not going to be doing that.
Trump: They weren’t actors. Well, no, it was true … you know, it happened a few days ago. And —
Acosta: They’re hundreds of miles of way though. They’re hundreds and hundreds of miles away.
Trump: You know what?
Acosta: That’s not an invasion.
Trump tried to move on, having given Acosta the chance to ask a question. After repeatedly telling Acosta “that’s enough” and to put down the microphone, an intern tried to take it from recalcitrant reporter. Acosta refused to yield.
So Trump unloaded: “I’ll tell you what: CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN. Go ahead.”
Acosta: I think that’s unfair.
Trump: You’re a very rude person. The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible. And the way you treat other people are horrible. You shouldn’t treat people that way.
After the ugly affair, Sanders tweeted that “we will … never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman.” Unrepentant, Acosta accused her of lying, first on Twitter, then on camera with Anderson Cooper, “Obviously, you know, I didn’t put my hands on her or touch her as they are alleging.”
Media Backs Acosta
Naturally, the media closed ranks around the put-upon prima donna.
A British woman you’ve never heard of proposed that the “entire White House press corps should walk out” of Trump’s “bizarre, reality-TV show.” The media should “deny him coverage. Take him off the air. Cancel his series. Leave him to rage into Twitter’s echo chamber, which is all he deserves.”
The New York Times’s Peter Baker tweeted that “other presidents did not fear tough questionting,” which invites the question of how someone who answered 68 questions, including one from a leftist who frankly suggested that Trump is a racist, “fears tough questioning.”
The White House Correspondents’ Assocation accused the president of using “the U.S. Secret Service security credentials as a tool to punish a reporter with whom it has a difficult relationship.” The reaction was “out of line to the purported offense and is unacceptable.”
The American Civil Liberites Union is probably preparing a lawsuit on behalf of migrant reporters who might be denied access to the press room: “White House correspondents represent the public. Their job is to ask hard questions, not to be polite company. It is unacceptable for the president to expel a reporter, Jim Acosta, for doing his job aggressively. The White House should reverse this decision immediately.”
Except that Acosta was rude and out of line, not merely aggressive.
Former CNN talker Larry King offered the best explanation for the network and its anti-Trump propagandist: “CNN stopped doing news a long time ago.”
Image: screenshot from YouTube video of press conference
