Batten down the hatches, folks. On Wednesday after the press conference between President Trump and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, pure and utter panic set in on CNN as Inside Politics host John King and White House correspondent Jim Acosta bemoaned that “the fix is in” because “it would be nice if the conservative outlets the President is calling on would ask him tough questions.”
After Trump and Netanyahu left their podiums, King attacked questioners David Brody from the Christian Broadcasting Network and Katie Pavlich from Townhall with a dose of sarcasm. He then went serious as they didn’t ask Trump about Mike Flynn the way the media wanted them to.
“Well, it would be nice, it would be nice, if the conservative outlets the President is calling on would ask him tough questions, and they would actually — instead of trying to curry favor with the President, they might do him a favor by letting him answer these questions because until he answers these questions, this story is not going to go away,” King complained.
King unpacked what the President actually said about Flynn’s departure, arguing that Trump “just made it more complicated” and called into question “who is telling the truth” and “who speaks for the President.”
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He concluded with more potshots at outlets that haven’t kowtowed to the narrative that, say, CNN or The New York Times wanted them to: “You have a White House now that is in crisis, and calling on conservative news outlets, fine, but it doesn't answer the questions that the American people should have. Not just the news media.”
King’s admonishment of Brody and Pavlich (plus those from the past two joint press conferences) could be seen as tame compared to what Acosta leveled a few minutes later.
“Yes, the two questions that were asked or called upon from the President in this news conference went to the Christian Broadcasting Network, which is obviously owned by Pat Robertson, the televangelist down in Virginia. It's a very conservative broadcasting network, and Townhall.com, which is a very conservative news website,” Acosta began.
After being offered kudos from Wolf Blitzer for shouting a question to Trump as he left the East Room, Acosta unloaded that the system is rigged: “In the last three news conferences, Wolf, all of the questions to the American news media have been handled by conservative press” and so, therefore, “there's no other way to describe it but the fix is in.”
Acosta continued, explaining that the Trump administration doesn’t appear to be too keen on “answer[ing] questions” or ones that outlets like CNN deem as “critical” ones.
“I think that this only, you know — they may think that this is being cute or they think this is strategic in terms of trying to shield the President from questions, but those questions can only be shielded for so long, Wolf,” Acosta concluded with more smugness.
Here’s the relevant portions of the transcript from CNN’s Inside Politics on February 15:
CNN’s Inside Politics
February 15, 2017
12:43 p.m. Eastern
JOHN KING: Well, it would be nice, it would be nice, if the conservative outlets the President is calling on would ask him tough questions, and they would actually — instead of trying to curry favor with the President, they might do him a favor by letting him answer these questions because until he answers these questions, this story is not going to go away. He just made it more complicated by saying that because yesterday the White House said the National Security Advisor was fired and the President asked for his resignation after he had eroded trust. He lost trust of the Vice President first and then the President as the President looked into this, and then the President of the United States just told the American people and the world something quite different. That unfair media attacks on his national security advisor led this man to unfairly be run out of the White House. Well, who is telling the truth? Who speaks for the President? Who should we believe? The President? His press secretary? Other people around the President? Because they all give different accounts. You have a White House now that is in crisis, and calling on conservative news outlets, fine, but it doesn't answer the questions that the American people should have. Not just the news media. I will also say this. You just had the president — and this is his right — quite casually throw years of U.S. foreign policy down the grain every drain.
(....)
WOLF BLITZER: I want to quickly go to Jim Accosta. He is in the East Room. Jim, was that you who shouted out a question to the President at the very end which he ignored?
JIM ACOSTA: Yes, Wolf. Guilty as charged. That was me. I tried to ask that question there as President Trump was leaving the room. It got quiet for a few moments, and when those moments come, you take full advantage. I tried to ask the President about his associates' contacts with the Russians during the campaign. He seemed to pause for a moment as if perhaps he wanted to answer the question, but then he turned to Prime Minister Netanyahu and left the East Room. Just to pick up on what you were saying a few moments ago, yes, what President Trump said during this news conference about Michael Flynn being treated unfairly by the “fake news media,” that is not consistent with what his own officials said yesterday in the White House — the White House briefing room. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that the National Security Advisor, who is now gone, misled the Vice President of the United States about his phone conversations with the Russian ambassador, and so that is not something that Michael Flynn was treated unfairly about. He did this and he had to pay the price. Now, the President is obviously very upset about leaks coming from the intelligence community or the law enforcement community to the news media, but these are questions that are being asked, and they're being answered by officials in this government. That is something that has gone on long before Donald Trump occupied the Oval Office. I think one other thing we want to comment on very quickly, Wolf, just because you mentioned this a few moments ago. Yes, the two questions that were asked or called upon from the President in this news conference went to the Christian Broadcasting Network, which is obviously owned by Pat Robertson, the televangelist down in Virginia. It's a very conservative broadcasting network, and Townhall.com, which is a very conservative news website and so, in the last three news conferences, Wolf, all of the questions to the American news media have been handled by conservative press, and I think, Wolf, there's no other way to describe it but the fix is in. This White House, this President, does not want to answer questions, critical questions, about his associates, his aides' contacts with the Russians during the course of that campaign just as his National Security Advisor is being run out of this White House on a rail. And so, I think that this only, you know — they may think that this is being cute or they think this is strategic in terms of trying to shield the President from questions, but those questions can only be shielded for so long, Wolf.
