Everyone's favorite reporter, CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta, has a new book, "A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America." The book focuses on his dealings with the White House and how President Trump's "war on the press" began by calling Acosta and other leftist outlets "fake news," the Guardian reported.
“When he called us ‘fake news,' it was, in his mind, an act," Acosta wrote.
From the Guardian:
True to the style of Washington political reporting often complained about by Trump, Acosta mostly uses unnamed sources, many of whom are said to have spoken over social drinks. They are often blunt in their assessment of their boss. A “senior White House official” tells Acosta: “The president’s insane.” A “former White House national security official” says staffers were not sure the president had not been “compromised” by Russia.
At the start of Trump’s presidency, the White House was frustrated by anonymously sourced stories and what it saw as the antagonistic stance of mainstream outlets from CNN and NBC to the Washington Post and the New York Times. Because Republicans controlled Congress and Trump needed an enemy that could be presented as dangerous and effective, Acosta writes, the president decided to attack the media.
The notion that the media was the “enemy of the people” emerged swiftly and caused great consternation among a press corps spooked by virulent abuse at Trump rallies. Acosta cites three unnamed sources who say the controversial line of attack originated with Steve Bannon, then Trump’s chief White House adviser.
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This week, the Fox News website cited one unnamed CNN employee as saying: “Jim Acosta is, a lot of times, asking the right questions, but it doesn’t always need to be about him and his grandstanding. Acosta is supposed to be a correspondent reporting the facts but you can’t tell the difference between him and a paid pundit.”
In his book, Acosta admits to sometimes “grandstanding” and “showboating”. He also says he “opts for the bait” when questioning Trump, “which bothers some people”. Of concerns he may be biased against the president, he writes: “Neutrality for the sake of neutrality doesn’t really serve us in the age of Trump.”
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Acosta had his press pass revoked back in November for pushing a White House intern who tried to take his microphone after a question. CNN and Acosta contemplated suing the White House to restore Acosta's press pass but ultimately dropped the suit. His press pass was eventually reinstated but his shenanigans continued.
The American people have come to know Acosta on a first name basis, not because of his stellar reporting but because of the mockery he makes of the press. He's almost always combative and almost always looking for a "gotcha!" moment. He's basically a troll in a suit with a microphone and President Trump has called him on his crap. We know he's going to do something stupid and I'm guessing a large majority of the public doesn't take what he says very seriously. He admits to "opting for the bait" and "grandstanding." The thing is...he rarely asks anything of substance. That's why people are bothered by him and his so-called "reporting."
This book appears to be one giant woes me fest for Jimmy boy.
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