President Donald Trump addressed the revocation of CNN’s Jim Acosta’s press pass on Friday, asserting that reporters have to treat the White House and the presidency with respect.
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“I think Jim Acosta’s a very unprofessional man. He does that with everybody. He gets paid to do that,” Trump said during a press gaggle on the White House lawn. “Whether it was me or Ronald Reagan or anybody else, he would’ve done the same thing.”
“I don’t think he’s a smart person, but he’s got a loud voice, and as far as I’m concerned, I haven’t made that decision. But it could be others, also,” Trump continued. “When you’re in the White House, this is a very sacred place to me. This is a very special place. You have to treat the White House with respect, you have to treat the presidency with respect.”
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 White House revoked Acosta’s press pass on Wednesday night after he debated the president during a press conference and refused to surrender his microphone to an intern, blocking the young woman with his arm.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders accused Acosta of “placing his hands” on the intern, calling his conduct “unacceptable.” Acosta denies that he acted inappropriately.
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