White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defended the decision to revoke CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass in a Thursday interview on Fox News.
Acosta’s pass was revoked Wednesday evening following a dispute with a White House intern during a presidential press conference. President Donald Trump repeatedly tried to move on from Acosta’s line of questioning to another reporter while an intern attempted to grab the microphone away from the CNN reporter.
We stand by our decision to revoke this individual’s hard pass. We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video. pic.twitter.com/T8X1Ng912y
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018
“It was a rough moment for the young aide as well. Just trying to get the microphone back after the president had entertained a question from the reporter and was moving on. The reporter from NBC was already standing, ready to ask his question, she was just doing her job,” Conway said. “Look, there are journalists here at the White House who every single day try to do their job by getting the story. Others try to get the president.”
Conway continued, “I think that some people like to grandstand and be part of the story.”
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 07: U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions 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)
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement Wednesday evening explaining their decision saying, “President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern.”
“As a result of today’s incident,” she added, “the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.”