White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer accused CNN’s Jim Acosta of making a “spectacle” of reporting in a Sunday interview with the Washington Post.
Acosta was the subject of a Washington Post feature in Sunday’s “Style” section because of his constant criticism of the current White House communications team.
“When the president of the United States calls the press ‘fake news’ and ‘the enemy of the American people,'” Acosta said for the piece, “I think that’s when you have to get tough and ask the hard questions.”
Sean Spicer didn’t hold back his criticism of the senior White House correspondent, accusing him of “hurting the profession” of journalism.
“If Jim Acosta reported on Jim Acosta the way he reports on us, he’d say he hasn’t been very honest,” Spicer said. “I think he’s gone well beyond the role of reporter and steered into the role of advocate.”
During one off-camera press briefing, Acosta repeatedly interrupted Spicer and other journalists but then complained on-air after the briefing that CNN was not allowed to ask questions of Spicer. (RELATED: CNN Reporter Complains About Being Blackballed After Spending Press Briefing Interrupting Spicer)
“He’s the prime example of a [reporter in a] competitive, YouTube, click-driven industry,” Spicer continued. “He’s recognized that if you make a spectacle on the air then you’ll get more airtime and more clicks. . . . If I were a mainstream, veteran reporter, I’d be advocating for him to knock it off.”