On Wednesday morning, CNN’s chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta cried foul in a tweet concerning a Variety interview released Tuesday in which he insulted the intelligence of the American people by claiming that “[t]hey don’t have all their faculties in some cases” when it comes to the rise of fake news and rhetoric from the President or his advisers about the liberal media.
Thankfully, the interwebs immediately dunked on Acosta’s pathetic attempt at damage control along with a Sean Spicer appearance hours earlier on FNC’s Fox & Friends blasting Acosta’s comments as “sad” in “show[ing]...a lack of understanding” of the American people.
Here’s Acosta’s tweet on the matter:
Almost immediately, conservative Twitter unloaded and, in a brief moment of indulgence, it was glorious:
Since he claims he’s being unfairly attacked, lets take a fuller look at what he said since this space transcribed large portions of the three videos Variety released.
Acosta’s comments were proceeded by CNN political analyst, American Urban Radio Networks correspondent, and fellow showboater April Ryan, who accused the President of violating his Oath of Office by not defending the news media (click “expand” to see the full comments):
RYAN: But here’s the thing. Fake news, by the president saying this, is not just a simple — a cute little statement for some. This has tentacles that it’s reaching overseas and I’ve heard from European leaders who are saying it can really destabilize democracies and they are very concerned about this fake news issue. Think about it. When you are in a country and your citizenry thinks that you’re fake, thinks that what the news is saying is fake, there could be anarchy some kind of way and it causes a destabilization of democracies. There’s tentacles to what this President is saying and this is the piece that gets me. Every President, on Inauguration Day, January 20, 12:01 p.m. or whatever day it is, becomes President but before he does that, he takes the oath of office to uphold the Constitution and the free press is part of the Constitution — First Amendment and he is swearing to uphold the Constitution. So he’s really being a hypocrite when he’s calling us “fake news” and saying — and it’s undermining us and we are a part of the pillars of this nation, the Founding Fathers. They didn’t know that there was going to be Twitter. They didn’t know there was going to be Ashley, they didn’t know there was going to be a Jim, they definitely didn’t know there was going to be an April asking questions of Presidents, but when we stand on what they laid for us and we — and the First Amendment is still strong — freedom of press and the President is going totally against that.
ACOSTA: The problem is that people around the country don’t know it’s an act. They’re not in on the act and they take what he says very seriously and they take attacks from Sean Spicer and Sarah Sanders and what they do to us on a daily basis very seriously. They don’t have all their faculties in some cases — their elevator might not hit all floors. My concern is that a journalist is going to be hurt one of these days. Somebody’s going to get hurt and, at that point, you know, the White House, the President of the United States, they’re going to have to take a hard look in the mirror and ask themselves whether or not they played a role in this, whether they created this toxic environment that resulted in a journalist getting hurt and the moment that a journalist gets hurt in the United States of America because of rhetoric coming from the President of the United States, we have suddenly become something less than the United States. We are starting to join at that moment, a different group of countries around the world where the press is not safe and I — I hope and I’d liked to see the White House and the President pay more attention to that.
Put simply, there’s no ambiguity there. “People around the country” is about as clear as you can get, Jim. My colleague Tim Graham tweeted that, for CNN, they’re under the impression that “Trump saying ‘s---hole’ according to an anonymous source is vastly more credible and troublesome than a media transcript of Acosta's smear of the American people.”
As for Spicer, the former White House Press Secretary took Acosta to ask, stating that “it's sad to see that in all seriousness because when I think it continues to show is a lack of understanding” on the part of “folks in these big urban areas who have been sort of around an elite group of people in the media or on Wall Street.”
“So, for Jim not to understand that, and for him to continue to dismiss and frankly make fun of and ridicule people around this country, is really sad and really shows you how little of an understanding they have of what's happening in this country,” he added.
Spicer even argued that he wouldn’t have been as bothered if it were from an openly liberal activist, but Acosta’s supposed to be a neutral correspondent (click “expand” to see more):
That's a — that’s a problem and when you’re further insulting them saying they don't have their faculties. I wasn't attacking Jim. Frankly, I was attacking the premise of bad stories, bad narratives, false information and I continue to believe that that's important because I believe in a fair and, I mean, I believe in the First Amendment. I believe in a robust press, but I don't believe that false narratives should go unanswered and I think the lack of his understanding of what's happening in this country is still a fundamental problem with so many people in the mainstream elite media.
To see the relevant transcript from FNC’s Fox and Friends on April 25, click “expand.”
FNC’s Fox and Friends
April 25, 2018
7:37 a.m. EasternPETE HEGSETH: Well, on another topic, we had to get your take on. You might remember your good friend from CNN journalist Jim Acosta.
SEAN SPICER: Very close, very close.
HEGSETH: Very close, right?
SPICER: I mean, I'm not wiping anything off his jacket, I will tell you that.
HEGSETH: Well, he mentioned your name yesterday —
SPICER: I heard on Fox & Friends I heard.
HEGSETH: — and insinuated a few other things about the rest of you, listen to him.
JIM ACOSTA: The problem is that people around the country don’t know it’s an act. They’re not in on the act and they take what he says very seriously and they take attacks from Sean Spicer and Sarah Sanders and what they do to us on a daily basis very seriously. They don’t have all their faculties in some cases — their elevator might not hit all floors.
STEVE DOOCY: Whoa, so he is saying that the President, his demeanor, that’s all an act.
SPICER: Right.
DOOCY: This guy on TV and at state dinner? That’s all an act and the people who voted for him are crazy.
SPICER Well, act one, get more jobs for American people: complete. Act two, strengthen our position in the world: complete. I mean, if this is an act, it's a pretty good play because right now, the American people are benefiting pretty well. So, bad on him. Look, I — part of the reason I wrote this book, The Briefing, which is — [LAUGHS] [DOOCY, EARHARDT MAKE INAUDIBLE COMMENT] which is because I talk about some of those interactions. But —
HEGSETH: So, Jim might make the book.
SPICER: Oh, I think he's in the book.
AINSLEY EARHARDT: What does it say though, seriously, about the voters because we have — the voters were called deplorables.
SPICER: Right.
EARHARDT: The voters — they — he’s call them “[t]hey don't have...their faculties?”
SPICER: Yeah.
EARHARDT: That they’re stupid, they don’t have all the elevator stops.
SPICER: I think this is — this is — and it's sad to see that in all seriousness because when I think it continues to show is a lack of understanding. We saw an executive from ABC News after the election talk about we need to get a firmer grasp of what's going on in this country, which I think is a good sign. I think when folks in these big urban areas who have been sort of around an elite group of people in the media or on Wall Street finally get to understand what's going on in rural America, the troubles that they feel, the way they feel they have been left behind and why this president is addressing their concerns is important. So, for Jim not to understand that, and for him to continue to dismiss and frankly make fun of and ridicule people around this country, is really sad and really shows you how little of an understanding they have of what's happening in this country.
HEGSETH: They still think they are saving America from the President.
SPICER: I know. That —
HEGSETH: That’s the problem
SPICER: — and again, I don't mind that from a liberal activist. I get it. I’ve been doing this a long time, but where — when you have a purported —
DOOCY: He is the White House correspondent.
SPICER: — yeah, correspondent saying that the people don't get it. That's a — that’s a problem and when you’re further insulting them saying they don't have their faculties. I wasn't attacking Jim. Frankly, I was attacking the premise of bad stories, bad narratives, false information and I continue to believe that that's important because I believe in a fair and, I mean, I believe in the First Amendment. I believe in a robust press, but I don't believe that false narratives should go unanswered and I think the lack of his understanding of what's happening in this country is still a fundamental problem with so many people in the mainstream elite media.
