Earlier this week in a video that has since gone viral, Donald Trump was seen at a White House press conference getting into a heated verbal exchange with CNN reporter Jim Acosta. After asking Trump about his language regarding immigrants while endorsing midterm candidates on the campaign trail, Trump walked away from his podium before scolding Acosta for his unflattering line of questioning.
"CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them," said Trump. "You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn't be working for CNN. You're a very rude person. The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible. And the way you treat other people are horrible. You shouldn't treat people that way."
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Ignoring the dripping irony of that statement in regards to being rude and treating people respectfully, Trump then suspended Acosta's White House press pass, causing an uproar and suggesting that more reporters could be next. Trump brought up CNN contributor April Ryan during a pool spray Friday morning when asked about the duration of Acosta's press suspension.
"As far as I'm concerned, I haven't made that decision," he said, "but, it could be others, also." Like Acosta, Trump has a contentious relationship with Ryan, an African-American reporter who has long been a member of the White House press corps and works primarily for American Urban Radio Networks.
Acosta appeared on CNN earlier this week and spoke to colleague Anderson Cooper about what he fears Trump's actions mean in a wider scope. "I do think, Anderson, that this is a test for all of us," he said. "I do think that they're trying to shut us down to some extent, inside the White House press corps." Re-watch the heated exchange, below.
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