CNN reporter Jim Acosta and Donald Trump got into an argument on Wednesday (November 7) that led to the former having his press credentials suspended. Acosta joined a room of other journalists in questioning the president after the mid-term elections, and the topic of immigration came up. Acosta decided to ask Trump why he seemingly "demonized" the immigrants traveling to the American border at the moment. Trump has called the move an "invasion," although the group is nowhere near the US border.
Trump kept his answers short, taking shots at Acosta several times before moving to end the questioning. Instead, Acosta continued with a second question about the Russian investigation, which Trump shrugged off with another curt answer. In between the two questions, Trump attempted to move on, but Acosta refused. A White House staffer attempted to grab the mic from the reporter, but he easily fended her off. After Acosta finally gives the mic up, Trump chose to attack him personally. "CNN should be ashamed of themselves, having you work for them," he said. "The way you treat Sarah Huckabee [Sanders] is horrible."
When Acosta attempted to return to the White House later on in the day, he was instructed by a secret service member to hand over his press credentials. Sanders released a statement from the White House after the incident, stating, "President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern. 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. ... As a result of today's incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice."
Acosta and CNN responded by refuting the claim that he placed his hands on the staffer, using photo evidence as proof. CNN released a statement via Twitter, as did The White House Correspondents’ Association.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1060350746703597568
https://twitter.com/_/status/1060342568024711169
https://twitter.com/_/status/1060357961359519745
