GOP Congressman Wants CNN to Fire Reporter for Spat With Donald Trump
Texas Republican Congressman Randy Weber thinks CNN should fire reporter Jim Acosta after he repeatedly interrupted President-elect Donald Trump’s press conference on Wednesday.
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
Trump had scolded CNN during Wednesday’s press conference, because he doesn’t like the way the network handled coverage of a controversial Russia dossier that was eventually published by BuzzFeed. Acosta attempted to ask a question, but Trump refused to call on him and called CNN “fake news.”
Also Read: Anderson Cooper, Kellyanne Conway Beef Over CNN's Russian Dossier Coverage (Video)
Incoming Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that Acosta owes Trump an apology on Twitter after the reporter mentioned that Spicer threatened to remove him if he continues to interrupt the president-elect.
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
I have covered 4 presidential campaigns. Democrats and Republicans. This has never happened. Let's deescalate, find a way to work together. https://t.co/wgNsXlwt4z
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 12, 2017
Thanks Jake. https://t.co/0azaSTHAIP
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 12, 2017
Also Read: CNN Denies Donald Trump's 'Fake News' Allegations: 'We Are Fully Confident in Our Reporting'
CNN released a statement on Wednesday responding to Trump’s allegation that CNN is “fake news” during his first press conference as president-elect.
“CNN’s decision to publish carefully sourced reporting about the operations of our government is vastly different than BuzzFeed’s decision to publish unsubstantiated memos,” the network said. “The Trump team knows this. They are using BuzzFeed’s decision to deflect from CNN’s reporting, which has been matched by the other major news organizations.”
“We are fully confident in our reporting,” the statement continued. “It represents the core of what the First Amendment protects, informing the people of the inner workings of their government; in this case, briefing materials prepared for President Obama and President-elect Trump last week. We made it clear that we were not publishing any of the details of the 35-page document because we have not corroborated the report’s allegations. Given that members of the Trump transition team have so vocally criticized our reporting, we encourage them to identify, specifically, what they believe to be inaccurate.”
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