White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Monday battled with CNN reporter Jim Acosta, demanding that journalists just “report it straight up” when it comes to the President. CNN is the outlet that Trump blasted as “fake news” and Spicer demanded, “Some days we do do the right thing. Some days we are successful.... When we're wrong, say we're wrong. But it's not always wrong and negative.”
He added, “It would be nice for someone once in a while, report it straight up.” This came after Acosta quizzed, “Getting back to Saturday at the CIA and your statement here at the podium, why make this crowd size issue something to talk about at all? Why get into it? Did it bother the President that much that he felt that you needed to come out here and straighten that out for us?"
During the press conference, Jon Karl demanded that Spicer take an oath of truth in front of the other journalists.
A transcript of the exchange is below:
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Press Conference
1/23/17
2:48JIM ACOSTA: First of all, congratulations. Thanks for taking the question. Getting back to Saturday at the CIA and your statement here at the podium, why make this crowd size issue something to talk about at all? Why get into it? Did it bother the President that much that he felt that you needed to come out here and straighten that out for us? And why did he choose the CIA as the venue to talk about that?
2:49
ACOSTA: In terms of the crowd sizes, why bring that up at the CIA? Why did you come out Saturday afternoon to talk about that? Did he tell you, “Sean, I'm upset about this, I want you to come out and correct the record?”
SEAN SPICER: I'm not going to get into conversations I have with the president. I will tell you that it's not — it's not just about a crowd size.
...
2:51
SPICER: but so many other folks that are either here in this administration that gave up their time during the transition, they left a job to work for three or four weeks because they're so committed to having his nominees get through, it's a little demoralizing to turn on the TV day after day and hear, “can't do this, this guy is not going to get confirmed. No way they’re going to get through.”
ACOSTA: Isn't that just part of the conversation that happens in Washington and the scrutiny that comes with being president of the United States?’?
SPICER: No, it's not.
...
SPICER: Sometimes we'll make mistakes, I promise you that. But it's not always got to be negative, Jim. Some days we do do the right thing. Some days we are successful. So, it's not — part of this is saying, when we're right, say we're right. When we're wrong, say we're wrong. But it's not always wrong and negative. There are things — there's a lot of things he's done already, a lot of amazing people he's appointed and success that he’s having. It would be nice for someone once in a while, report it straight up.
