The press conference on Wednesday, which included a tense exchange between CNN reporter Jim Acosta and President Donald Trump, continued to boil over as the news outlet responded to insane accusations by the White House that Acosta assaulted a female White House aide during the exchange.
Tonight the White House revoked @Acosta’s press pass. CNN’s response to @PressSec and @realDonaldTrump: pic.twitter.com/EY2iFLvP3P
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 8, 2018
The tweet was issued in response to a Twitter thread by press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who lobbed the accusations from her official account.
This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporter’s colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018
Contrary to CNN’s assertions there is no greater demonstration of the President’s support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters…
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018
…over the course of 1.5 hours including several from the reporter in question. The fact that CNN is proud of the way their employee behaved is not only disgusting, it‘s an example of their outrageous disregard for everyone, including young women, who work in this Administration
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018
As a result of today’s incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018
A slowed down video of the encounter shows clearly the the White House aide touched Jim Acosta and not the other way around. In fact, the woman touched him four separate times before his hand bumped her arm as she reached in multiple times to snatch the microphone from his hand. At the time, Acosta was attempting to ask the president about the racist and violent rhetoric he had used against a group of migrants attempting to seek asylum in the United States.
See the slowed-down version below:
Slowed down the @Acosta encounter to show the FOUR times the White House staffer touched HIM… not the other way around. Unclear if she's been suspended. pic.twitter.com/gBhlR2r5P1
— Sarah Burris (@SarahBurris) November 8, 2018
As a result of the exchange, the White House used their version of the event, the version that included Acosta assaulting the aide, to justify pulling his press credentials. CNN’s White House correspondent was informed by Secret Service that he would no longer be allowed to enter the White House grounds, effectively stripping him of his job.
See the exchange in real time below:
Here is a video of the interaction for the world to see: pic.twitter.com/us8u5TWzDz
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 8, 2018
The video in no way shows Acosta assaulting anyone. In fact, if anyone was assaulted, it was the journalist with decades of experience who was simply trying to do his job and ask tough questions of the president.
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
