Trump Scolds Jim Acosta: ‘You Are a Rude, Terrible Person’

President Trump chastised CNN’s Jim Acosta during a White House press conference Wednesday for continuing to shout questions over other reporters and refusing to surrender his microphone to a staffer who tried to take it away.

“That’s enough. Put down the mic,” Trump shouted while Acosta pushed a staffer’s arm away as she tried to confiscate his microphone. “I tell you what, CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN.”

The heated exchange began when Acosta asked Trump to concede that the caravan of Central American migrants headed toward the southern border did not constitute an “invasion” as Trump and his allies had previously claimed.

“The caravan was not an invasion, it is a group of migrants moving up the border from Central America towards the border with the U.S.,” Acosta argued.

“Thank you for telling me that, I appreciate it,” Trump shot back, before denying that he “demonized” immigrants as part of his messaging strategy ahead of the midterms.

Acosta, who continued to interrupt and shout over Trump, insisted that Trump was overlooking the caravan’s distance from the border.

“They’re hundreds of miles away, that’s not an invasion,” Acosta said.

“Honestly, I think you should let me run the country, you run CNN and if you did it well, your ratings would be much better,” Trump said.

NBC Correspondent Pete Williams was given the next question and used part of his allotted time to defend Acosta, whom he referred to as a “diligent reporter.”

“Well, I’m not a big fan of yours either, to be honest,” Trump responded.

Acosta then rose from his chair again and began speaking over his fellow reporter, prompting Trump to once again characterize him and his network as the “enemy of the people.”

CNN said the president had “gone too far” in a statement released moments after the press conference.