Silke Jasso
Last night, the battle between Trump and the media bubbled over into what became an international story and a sharp break from the generally civil press conferences that the American public is accustomed to with elected officials. Trump’s personal vendetta against CNN began a long time ago and peaked yesterday when he refused to answer the questions posed by senior reporter Jim Acosta and called the network “fake news.” That interaction drew condemnation from journalists and free speech advocates after Acosta tweeted that incoming White House press secretary threatened to throw him out if the reporter asked another question.
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Fox News anchor Shepard Smith said that CNN should “not be subjected to belittling or delegitimizing by the president-elect of the United States.” However, it does not seem that Donald Trump will be slowing down in his tirade against the network, this morning he tweeted that they are in a “total meltdown.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/819550083742109696
Jake Tapper, a senior reporter and news anchor on CNN, fired back at the freshly minted American leader on Twitter, saying that in fact CNN’s ratings were up.
.@TheLeadCNN was #1 in its time slot in the demo Tuesday, thanks for watching folks!!
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 12, 2017
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Acosta’s outburst has drawn condemnation from a number of prominent politicians. Sean Spicer declared that the behavior was “rude, inappropriate and disrespectful.”
Regardless of party, @acosta behavior was rude, inappropriate and disrespectful. He owes @realDonaldTrump and his colleagues an apology https://t.co/LnTkYam8IJ
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) January 12, 2017
Congressman Randy Weber (R-TX) took it a step further and suggested banning Acosta.
The CNN reporter who was disruptive to the press briefing, & disrespectful to Trump-should be fired & prohibited from any press briefings.
— Randy Weber (@TXRandy14) January 12, 2017
