INP
\nWASHINGTON
\nThe White House suspended the press pass of a CNN reporter who sparred with Donald Trump at a news conference, during which the president branded him the \u201cenemy of the people.\u201d
\nA visibly angry Trump called reporter Jim Acosta a \u201crude, terrible person,\u201d after the CNN White House correspondent refused the president\u2019s orders to sit down and yield the microphone during the conference one day after the US midterm election. \u201cThe White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice,\u201d said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders hours later, referring to Acosta, who then tweeted that he had been denied White House entry. The heated exchange began after Acosta clung to the microphone and persisted with questions about the president\u2019s repeated and angry denunciation of a caravan of poor Central American migrants making their way through Mexico to the US border. He asked Trump why he has characterized it as an invasion.
\nTrump said \u201cthat\u2019s enough!\u201d and a White House intern tried in vain to take the microphone from the CNN journalist.
\n\u201cPresident Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration,\u201d Sanders said in her statement.
\n\u201cWe will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable,\u201d she said.
\nAcosta shot back at the accusation of misconduct, tweeting \u201cthis is a lie\u201d — as his network and a number of Washington journalists who had been at the press conference voiced support for him and denied the White House allegations that he touched the intern.
\n\u201cSecretary Sanders lied,\u201d CNN said in a statement, saying the press pass suspension was \u201cdone in retaliation for challenging questions.\u201d Sanders \u201cprovided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened,\u201d the US cable network said. \u201cThis unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better. Jim Acosta has our full support.\u201d An association representing the Washington press corps urged the White House to immediately reverse \u201cthis weak and misguided action.\u201d
\n\u201cThe White House Correspondents\u2019 Association strongly objects to the Trump Administration\u00b4s decision to use US Secret Service security credentials as a tool to punish a reporter with whom it has a difficult relationship,\u201d the group said. \u201cRevoking access to the White House complex is a reaction out of line to the purported offence and is unacceptable.\u201d
\nIn a later tweet, Sanders said the White House stood by its decision. \u201cWe will not tolerate the inappropriate behaviour clearly documented in this video,\u201d she wrote.
\nIt was the latest in a long history of fiery run-ins between the mercurial Republican leader and Acosta.
\nAt the conference Trump, when asked if he had \u201cdemonized immigrants\u201d during the midterms campaign, replied: \u201cNo, I want them to come into the country. But they have to come in legally.\u201d
\nAcosta persisted, saying: \u201cThey are hundreds of miles away. That is not an invasion.\u201d
\nAt that point, the president snapped.
\n\u201cHonestly, I think you should let me run the country. You run CNN, and if you did it well, your ratings would be higher,\u201d Trump said.
\nAs the reporter continued, Trump declared: \u201cThat\u00b4s enough, put down the mic\u201d and walked away from his own podium, as if leaving.
\nThe intern attempted to take the microphone from Acosta, who persisted and tried to shout out one last question.
\nWaving his finger, Trump berated him.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll tell you what. CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn\u00b4t be working for CNN,\u201d he said.
\nWhen NBC reporter Peter Alexander took the mic for the next question, he defended Acosta as a \u201cdiligent reporter\u201d — earning Trump\u2019s ire.
\n\u201cI\u00b4m not a fan of yours either. To be honest. You aren\u00b4t the best,\u201d he said.
\nLooking back at Acosta, who again rose up in his own defence, Trump added: \u201cWhen you report fake news, which CNN does a lot, you are the enemy of the people.\u201d
\nIn response, CNN said \u201cthis president\u2019s ongoing attacks on the press have gone too far,\u201d in a statement.
\n\u201cThey are not only dangerous, they are disturbingly un-American.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INP WASHINGTON The White House suspended the press pass of a CNN reporter who sparred with Donald Trump at a news conference, during which the president branded him the \u201cenemy of the people.\u201d A visibly angry Trump called reporter Jim Acosta a \u201crude, terrible person,\u201d after the CNN White House correspondent refused the president\u2019s orders […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n