The Acosta Diaries

Is there a better example of people living in two different realities at the same time than Jim Acosta’s White House debacle? Who hasn’t heard the story by now? Who hasn’t seen the video?

President Trump started his day, probably feeling genuinely good that the blue wave was more like a purple rain, so he decided to do a press conference. Every American that believed Republicans losing total control of the government would result in some sort of civility were utterly bonkers. The press was absolutely hostile, and President Trump dished out exactly what he took.

Then, we got to Jim. Dear Jim. Acosta asked the President his questions. To be honest, he really offered his opinion on whether or not the caravan was an invasion or not. Acosta said it wasn’t. Trump said they had a difference of opinion. Then, they shook hands respectfully.

Except, that’s not true. Acosta went on to ask the president about his rhetoric in regard to immigrants, feeding into the narrative of Trump being a racist that just hates everybody brown. Trump refuted the question. Mind you, this is his second question.

 So, Acosta’s first question was basically: the caravan is full of nice migrants seeking a better life, don’t lie about it being an invasion. His second question was essentially: orange man bad. The major point of contention began when Acosta began to sneak in a third question.

The president said that was enough. The poor intern tried to remove the White House mic from Acosta’s hands, and the point of contention was born. He clearly fought for possession of the mic. He clearly would not relinquish it. He clearly made contact with her. There was a slight hand chop to push her away. It wasn’t malicious or forceful. Saying, “pardon me, ma’am,” is not a proper apology, since he still possessed the mic at the end of their exchange.

Did he do her harm? I don’t think so. She may be internet famous, but there are worse things to be remembered for as a White House intern (if you know what I mean). I don’t think Acosta is a security concern. Is he wildly unprofessional? Yes. Most reporters get one question and a follow-up. They may even get two. You don’t fight off an intern, so you can ask your third question, to which the president replied by giving Acosta an earful.

Many are torn about Acosta’s hard pass being revoked, fearing it sets a bad precedent. But what about the bad precedent that Acosta sets every day? A hard pass doesn’t mean he is no longer a journalist. It doesn’t mean he can’t come into the White House or report on the president. The White House did not shut out CNN.

The real question is why isn’t CNN deeply embarrassed by the lack of professionalism from their journalists? Why was it tolerated for Acosta to go on their network and lie about never touching the intern? How is it possible that the media shifted the story into pushing a conspiracy theory about the White House sharing a “doctored” video originated from InfoWars editor, Paul Joseph Watson? Why didn’t CNN, the network dedicated to “facts first”, investigate if the video was indeed doctored? It was zoomed in. There were some lost frames when it was exported into a gif. Gifs don’t have sound, but it wasn’t edited to be deliberately deceptive. A network like CNN should know what deceptive editing looks like. Even Vice News, who initially reported the video was doctored, talked to two digital experts and conceded there was no evidence the video was doctored.

CNN doesn’t pay Jim Acosta to be a journalist or even a partisan hack. He is meant to be a Trump instigator.

Benny Johnson of the Daily Caller shared a video on Tuesday about the past Easter celebration at the White House. This was not a political event. President Trump was painting eggs with his grandchildren, and Acosta was shouting questions about DACA. All the other reporters were respectful. “Before he started yelling, I watched Acosta strategize with CNN producers as to how he was going to get close enough to shout at the president at this family event. I covered three of Obama’s Easter Egg rolls. I never witnessed a WH reporter (including Acosta) behave this way.”

Now, CNN is suing the White House. Why? It’s not to preserve Acosta’s reputation. He’s not a reputable journalist. He isn’t respectful to his peers. As the statement from the Press Secretary said, “CNN, who has nearly 50 additional hard pass holders, Mr. Acosta is no more or less special than any other media outlet or reporter with respect to the First Amendment.”

The White House could have handled it in a more tactful way. They could have always refused to call on Acosta. Dana Perino, former Press Secretary to President Bush, said there was a particular individual that was dealt with in that manner. But, as we recall, the Bush administration handled criticism and a combative press very differently. If the press tries to blast President Trump, he’s going to use Ultra Instinct to ride their wave of hatred and throw a Kamehameha Wave pointblank in their faces. He loves having an enemy to fight, and CNN has to fight Trump for ratings (and because they despise him).

I don’t believe all reporters at CNN are partisan hacks, but if they don’t want to be seen as biased opinion anchors like Sean Hannity on Fox News or the obviously left slanted MSNBC, they need to reevaluate their priorities. Some do decent and even good work. Jim Acosta is not one of those people.

But, in the meantime, Acosta gets to feed his massive ego, CNN can fight to stay relevant, and President Trump still has a foe to fight. I suppose all parties involved get to win.