Less than 10 minutes after his latest verbal brawl Thursday afternoon with White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, CNN’s chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta was given a hero’s welcome to CNN Newsroom where he reiterated how he’s “tired of this” “un-American” behavior from Sanders and President Trump regarding the press being “the enemy of the people.”
Acosta’s self-described “rant” went even further than usual as he quipped that he and his colleagues should “make some bumper stickers” and “buttons” to protest outside the White House against the President and his administration. That’s amusing since that’s not all that different from what happens on CNN.
“Sadly, Brooke, I think what — what you saw happen here at the end of that briefing was the true feelings of the President, the true feelings of many of the people that work in this administration laid bare,” Acosta asserted to host Brooke Baldwin on the notion that the administration believes that reporters are enemies of the people.
The showboating CNN correspondent complained that he gave Sanders “several opportunities there to set the record straight and she just flat refused.”
He footnoted that Sanders has dealt with “a lot...personally,” but journalists are “fact checkers in real-time” when Trump or Sanders spread falsehoods, he claimed.
It was here that Acosta made his embarrassing stand about journalists becoming protesters:
There is no government official here but I'll say that the press is not the enemy of the people and, you know, I think, you know, maybe we should make some bumper stickers. Make some buttons, you know maybe we should go out on Pennsylvania Avenue like these folks who chant “CNN sucks” and “fake news,” maybe we should go out, all journalists should go out on Pennsylvania avenue and chant we're not the enemy of the people because I'm tired of this.
“Honestly, Brooke, I'm tired of this. It’s — it is not right. It is not fair. It is not just. It is un-American to come out here and call the press the enemy of the people and Ivanka Trump knows that. I don't know why her father doesn’t and I don't know why this press secretary doesn't,” Acosta proclaimed.
He mentioned Sanders being kicked out of a restaurant and comedienne Michelle Wolf attacking her appearance at the White House Correspondents Dinner and he’s “sorry about that,” but engaged in some whataboutism by imploring her to “read things that are said to me the other night in Tampa” and “my colleagues on CNN on a regular basis.”
Riding the high horse and asking Baldwin to “forgive me for going on a rant,” Acosta suggested that everyone lower “the temperature a little bit,” but then chided Sanders for not declaring that the press was not the enemy of the people.
Once Acosta finished, Baldwin proclaimed “amen” to his rant and said she “appreciate[s] you standing there and I know this is personal — and — for you.”
“I appreciate you and, of course, all the work you do for us covering this White House. I want to come back to that conversation,” she concluded.
This is CNN.
To see the relevant transcript from August 2's CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin, click “expand.”
CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin
August 2, 2018
2:06 p.m. EasternBROOKE BALDWIN: So — so all of that happened, but there was also quite the exchange between our colleague, our chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta and Sarah Sanders, right? So, we all remember what happened to Jim and I know this has happened to some degree at all kinds of rallies he's been at. So, Jim — Jim’s with me now. And Jim, first of all, let me just speak on behalf of my CNN colleagues in knowing that no one of called for the Press Secretary to be choked or harassed from this network, number one and number two —
JIM ACOSTA: That’s exactly right.
BALDWIN: — why can't this White House acknowledge that the media is not the enemy of the people?
JIM ACOSTA: Sadly, Brooke, I think what — what you saw happen here at the end of that briefing was the true feelings of the President, the true feelings of many of the people that work in this administration laid bare. They believe, it appears in their heart of hearts, that the journalists who cover this White House, the journalists who work in this city, who were just trying a few moments ago to hold some of these officials accountable about attacks on our democracy, that the people here who work at this White House all the way up to the President, evidently believe that journalists are the enemy of the people. Literally the enemy of the people and I gave Sarah, as you saw there —
BALDWIN: Except for Ivanka Trump.
ACOSTA: — except for Ivanka Trump and I tried to pose that question to say, you know, listen, the President's daughter, his own daughter said no, she doesn't think that — that we're the enemy and you saw it unfold there. I was giving Sarah several opportunities there to set the record straight and she just flat refused. And I think what you can obviously see is that she’s taken a lot what she's experienced very personally. I don't — I don’t — I don’t blame her for that. My goodness, she has taken on a lot. But at the same time, she also has come up here to this podium on a regular basis and continued to tell the American people, you know, provable falsehoods, lies, and so on and, unfortunately, you know, our job as journalists as you know, Brooke, we have to call that stuff out. We have to fact-check them. We're fact checkers in real-time dealing with this President because he tells falsehoods and lies so much and, you know, it's unfortunate the position that we're all in right now and I'm standing in this briefing room right now. There is no government official here but I'll say that the press is not the enemy of the people and, you know, I think, you know, maybe we should make some bumper stickers. Make some buttons, you know maybe we should go out on Pennsylvania Avenue like these folks who chant “CNN sucks” and “fake news,” maybe we should go out, all journalists should go out on Pennsylvania avenue and chant we're not the enemy of the people because I'm tired of this. Honestly, Brooke, I'm tired of this. It’s — it is not right. It is not fair. It is not just. It is un-American to come out here and call the press the enemy of the people and Ivanka Trump knows that. I don't know why her father doesn’t and I don't know why this press secretary doesn't. I mean, she got yelled at a restaurant in Virginia. I feel sorry about that. I feel badly for her that happened and that comedian at the Correspondents Dinner said some unpleasant things about her. I'm sorry about that. She ought read things that are said to me the other night in Tampa. She ought to read some of the things that are said about my colleagues on CNN on a regular basis. It would be nice if we all lowered the temperature a little bit but, at the very least, I think we should all be able to agree on one thing, and that is the press is not the enemy of the people.
BALDWIN: Yeah, yeah.
ACOSTA: Fellow Americans are not the enemy of fellow Americans and, I — you know, forgive me for going on a rant, but I think —
BALDWIN: No, no.
ACOSTA: — they’ve lost sight of that here at this White House.
BALDWIN: No. Let me say amen and also let me say what took Ivanka Trump so long to say that the press isn't the enemy of the people? We're going to come back to all of that.
ACOSTA: Yeah.
BALDWIN: And Jim, I appreciate you standing there.
ACOSTA: Sure. You bet.
BALDWIN: And I know this is personal — and — for you. I appreciate you and, of course, all the work you do for us covering this White House. I want to come back to that conversation.
