President Donald Trump tore into CNN’s Jim Acosta during a press conference in the White House on Wednesday, attacking the reporter as a “rude, terrible person.”
Acosta had refused to sit down after asking the president about a racist, anti-immigration ad his re-election campaign had paid for and promoted ahead of the midterm elections on Tuesday.
A White House aide tried to grab the microphone from Acosta, but the CNN reporter refused to give it up, infuriating the president.
“I’ll tell you what, CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them,” Trump scolded Acosta. “You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN.”
NBC’s Peter Alexander, the next reporter chosen to ask a question, defended his beleaguered colleague.
“In Jim’s defense, I’ve traveled with him, he’s a hard-working, diligent reporter,” Alexander told the president.
Trump later accused CNN of “voter suppression,” citing its election polling ahead of the midterm elections. It’s unclear how he believes the network’s projections led to voter suppression.
The president has repeatedly accused CNN and other media outlets of producing “fake news” and has attacked them as “the enemy of the people,” even days after a pipe bomb was sent to the outlet’s office.
“It’s such a hostile media,” Trump said at the press conference. “So sad.”