President Donald Trump warned the White House press corps that he and his administration officials would leave press availabilities if they felt they were being disrespected, in a Friday appearance in the Oval Office.
Trump’s answer came shortly after his administration lost an effort to continue barring CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House. Judge Timothy J. Kelly issued an injunction Friday morning ordering the White House to reinstate Acosta’s credentials, saying his Fifth Amendment right to due process was violated. Acosta’s credentials were then re-instated Friday morning.
Cable News Network (CNN) Chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta talks to reporters after a judge temporarily restored Acosta’s White House press credentials following a hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., November 16, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The White House revoked Acosta’s credentials last week claiming that he laid hands on an intern after refusing to surrender the microphone during a press conference. (RELATED: CNN Sues The White House Over Jim Acosta’s Revoked Press Credentials)
LEFT: President Donald Trump is seen at the Elysee Palace on the eve of the commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day, 100 years after the end of the First World War, in Paris, November 10, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler. RIGHT: CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta attends a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., August 2, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Trump warned that despite the loss the White House is “writing up the rules and regulations” and “if they don’t listen to the rules and regulations we are going to be back in court and win.”
The president continued, “we always have the option of just leaving. If we feel that things aren’t being treated properly or people being treated properly, we always have the right to leave. I have instructed my people, when they are not being treated properly, you have the right to leave any time that you want.”
