While speaking to reporters on Friday, President Donald Trump had some harsh words for CNN reporter Jim Acosta after press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suspended his pass to enter the White House.
“I think Jim Acosta is a very unprofessional man,” Trump said before suggesting that CNN paid him to be disruptive. “I don’t think he’s a smart person but he’s got a loud voice,” Trump also said.
He went on to indicate that Acosta didn’t treat the White House as the “sacred place” that it was. “You have to treat the White House with respect. You have to treat the presidency with respect. If you’ve ever seen him dealing with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, it’s a disgrace.”
Watch below:
Trump breaks silence on Jim Acosta and his press pass being taken away:
“I think Jim Acosta’s a very unprofessional man. He does that with everybody. He gets paid to do that…I don’t think he’s a smart person… But it could be others, also.” pic.twitter.com/yhjWCHgkeI
— Caleb Hull ???? (@CalebJHull) November 9, 2018
As IJR noted, Acosta accused Sanders of lying when she said he put his hands on the White House intern who tried taking his mic during the incident which prompted the suspension.
This is a lie. https://t.co/FastFfWych
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 8, 2018
Trump also called American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan a “loser” who didn’t know “what the hell she’s doing. She’s very nasty and she shouldn’t be,” he said later in his comments.
While some defended Acosta online, a major journalistic organization criticized his actions. The Poynter Institute, a journalistic organization, said on Thursday that his comments didn’t “represent the best of journalism.”
“Jim Acosta’s encounter Wednesday at a White House press conference was less about asking questions and more about making statements,” Poynter Institute faculty Kelly McBride and Al Tompkins said.
“In doing so, the CNN White House reporter gave President Donald Trump room to critique Acosta’s professionalism.”
Some learn the hard way that they are not too important, or too famous, to disappear into obscurity. Ask Connie Chung.
Hope he never gets back in the WH. He is a worthless POS reporter.
They should have yanked acosta’s creds long ago. Now he will, hopefully, have more time to spend in the special “dungeon” with cooper and hogg
Ouch or ROTFL? Trump calling ANYONE unprofessional either would send you to the floor laughing or in the event that you respect the opinion of the least professional POTUS in history, it could hurt your feelings.
clue for Acosta: journalism does not mean antagonizing others. It doesn’t mean acting as an advocate for your personal narrative. It doesn’t mean shouting over other journalists or hogging the spotlight. It’s NEVER supposed to be about you. Freedom of the press is NOT a “get out of jail free”… Read more »
We are living in Trump America. “Acting like a butt” can get you 304 electoral college votes. There is not one protocol for Trump and one for everyone else. You did not elect him King of America. THIS is the America you wanted and now you want to judge by… Read more »