Of course, hard-left CNN journalist Jim Acosta couldn’t let a touching moment in Tuesday’s State of the Union go without injecting liberal spin onto it. Regarding the President’s awarding of the Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh, Acosta smeared the radio star as a racist, claiming a “history of making derogatory comments about African-Americans.”
Insisting that he knows better, the CNN reporter declared of the overall speech, “I think this was a state of the base speech, not a State of the Union speech. The state of the Trump base is strong. The State of the Union is deeply divided.”
Minimizing the touching tributes to members of the military and the country’s patriotic history, Acosta derided without evidence: “Yes, the President had some heartwarming moments during this speech but he was also engaging in some deeply divisive rhetoric aimed at immigrants, aimed at Latinos.”
He slimed, “And while, yes, he was trying to make appeal to the African-American community it can't be forgotten he was awarding the Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh who has a history of making derogatory comments about African-Americans.”
Rush Limbaugh producer Bo Snerdley hit back at Acosta, challenging him to prove his smears:
Acosta cited a top Obama aide in order to declare the State of the Union a “wash”:
So I think, you know, overall it's a wash, and as David Axelrod was saying the base pays a lot more attention to what the President says at rally than they do the State of the Union speech.”
A partial transcript is below:
CNN State of the Union reaction
2/4/2020
10:59 PM ETJIM ACOSTA: Anderson, I think this was a state of the base speech, not a State of the Union speech. The state of the Trump base is strong. The State of the Union is deeply divided. And we are just getting some reaction to what happened inside the hall. I will tell you, I talked to a White House official just a short while ago, responding to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripping up the President's speech as soon as he was finished, right in front of the Vice President, Mike Pence. And this official said, “For such a really big night she sure behaved pretty small.” But I will tell you, Anderson I talked to a Trump adviser just a short time ago, just a few minutes ago who speaks with the President regularly who said the President missed an opportunity here. He had a chance tonight with a deeply divided country watching to extend a bit of an olive branch.
And when Nancy Pelosi reached out to shake his hand he snubbed her. In the words of this adviser, that was a missed opportunity. So I think this just really sets the stage, as you all have been saying for the months to come, yes the President had some heartwarming moments during this speech but he was also engaging in some deeply divisive rhetoric aimed at immigrants, aimed at Latinos. And while, yes, he was trying to make appeal to the African-American community it can't be forgotten he was awarding the Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh who has a history of making derogatory comments about African-Americans. So I think, you know, overall it's a wash, and as David Axelrod was saying the base pays a lot more attention to what the President says at rally than they do the State of the Union speech. Anderson?
