CNN’s Jim Acosta had his White House press credentials revoked after he refused to give the microphone back to an aide during a heated exchange with President Trump at a press conference on Wednesday.
Acosta was rushed to a CNN studio to tell the tale of having his credentials revoked, but CNN refused to air the full clip of his interaction with the intern or challenge Acosta on his assertion that he never touched the White House intern.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 07: U.S. President Donald Trump gets into an exchange with Jim Acosta of CNN after giving remarks a day after the midterm elections on November 7, 2018 in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Republicans kept the Senate majority but lost control of the House to the Democrats. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
The dispute began when Acosta asked the president about his rhetoric on the migrant caravan and refused to sit down or stop yelling questions at the president. The president retaliated by attacking him and CNN as the “enemy of the people” while a White House intern attempted to move the mic to the next reporter.
Acosta clearly fought the intern for the mic and pushed her arm away when she reached for it. You can watch the full interaction below:
Many claims of doctored videos of Acosta’s interactions with female White House intern.
Everyone deserves to see what REALLY happened.
This is the completely unedited interaction clipped directly from the White House feed.
I would direct you to really watch the :05 second mark pic.twitter.com/kEkfxswwbB
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) November 8, 2018
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the revocation of Acosta’s press credentials afterward, saying:
This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporter’s colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history. (RELATED: Trump Goes Off On Acosta, Who Refused To Hand Mic To Female Staffer)
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
After his credentials were revoked, Acosta told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he never touched the female White House aide. During this segment, Acosta told viewers:
You can see in the video, the intern came up to me — and attempted to take the microphone away from me. All I can say at that point is that I was trying to hang onto the microphone so I could continue to ask the president questions. Obviously, you know, I didn’t put my hands on her or touch her as they are alleging.
As Acosta said this, CNN displayed the clip but cut it as soon as the exchange with the intern was about to happen. Cooper did not challenge that the video clearly shows Acosta “touching’ the intern.
Host Anderson Cooper instead read tweets from other journalists supporting Acosta.
Below is the full CNN segment featuring Acosta:
WATCH:
