White House bans CNN's Jim Acosta

It used to be that reporters covered the news. Now they ARE the news. Donald Trump did that. He made the press its own top story.

RookieWriter said:

That being said there has to be a point of order and behavior protocol.

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Right. And the WH should be the one defining this protocol along with ways to enforce it.

-cb

According to Maggie Haberman of the Times, Jim Acosta received a letter from the WH telling him they'd be yanking his pass again after the judge's order expires. Pissants, the lot of them.

RookieWriter said:

My view is that reporters can and should be able to ask the toughest questions they can think of to the POTUS, or anyone else serving in government.

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Agreed.

RookieWriter said:

That being said there has to be a point of order and behavior protocol. Acosta wasn't banned for tough questions. If that was the case he would have been banned a long time ago.

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I see a steady ramping up by this president of rhetoric against the press. Having an adversarial relationship with them is nothing new. Calling them the “enemy of the people” is, at least in the U.S. That’s language that dictators use, and it’s very unsettling to hear a U.S. president utter it, repeatedly.

I watched the portion of that press conference. I saw nothing unusual or disrespectful in Acosta’s behavior. Aggressive? Perhaps. It was clear, to me at least, that Trump simply didn’t like the questions asked.

What do you think in Acosta’s questions or manner of asking them were so beyond the pale that it merited having his hard pass revoked?

RookieWriter said:

If you are honestly implying that a POTUS banning one reporter from press conferences is going to lead all the media in the country to being a mouthpiece for the WH I'd say that is a really long stretch.

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Our press already has an abysmal record of asking hard questions of our politicians, and insisting on getting real answers. Denying a press pass to anyone who asks questions the president doesn’t like absolutely will move us further down the road of nothing but softball questions and useless fawning interviews. How could it not?

Ari Meermans said:

According to Maggie Haberman of the Times, Jim Acosta received a letter from the WH telling him they'd be yanking his pass again after the judge's order expires. Pissants, the lot of them.

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This is recent:

CNN asks for emergency hearing after Trump threatens to revoke Acosta's press pass again
https://absolutewrite.com/forums/sh...bans-CNN-s-Jim-Acosta&p=10480818#post10480818

Later that same day, the White House sent Acosta a formal letter outlining a "preliminary decision" to suspend his pass. The letter -- signed by two of the defendants in the suit, press secretary Sarah Sanders and deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine --cited Acosta's conduct at President Trump's November 7 press conference, where he asked multiple follow-up questions and didn't give up the microphone right away.

"You failed to abide" by "basic, widely understood practices," the letter to Acosta claimed.

Many journalists have challenged the administration's actions against Acosta, pointing out that aggressive questioning is a tradition that dates back decades.

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Funny thing is, no other reporter in the room filed a complaint about Acosta not giving up the mic.

-cb

Nothing like being contemptuous of a court order in writing...

I don't know whether to laugh or scream at this administration trying to use a violation of "basic, widely understood practices" as an accusation against someone else...

White House backs down from legal fight, restores Jim Acosta's press pass
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/media/cnn-acosta-emergency-hearing/index.html

Backs down? Really?

"Having received a formal reply from your counsel to our letter of November 16, we have made a final determination in this process: your hard pass is restored," the White House said in a new letter to Acosta. "Should you refuse to follow these rules in the future, we will take action in accordance with the rules set forth above. The President is aware of this decision and concurs."

The letter detailed several new rules for reporter conduct at presidential press conferences, including "a single question" from each journalist. Follow-ups will only be permitted "at the discretion of the President or other White House officials."

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I'm eager to know how the other reporters feel about those new rules.

-cb

Such a circus, while Rome burns and Nero throws gasoline in all directions. Sigh.

April Ryan asked Trump about "Rep. Cummings' wanting to investigate Ivanka's emails" and Trump pointed at her and walked away. There's video at the link. Is he saying, "You're next to lose your credentials" even though they had to give Jim Acosta's back? That has to be grating on this petty, unwell man. It could be his usual rudeness, but given his steadfast, enthusiastic support of Saudi Arabia's crown prince despite his culpability for the murder of a journalist, I expect he'll ramp up his war on journalists (especially women of color).

Larry M said:

There is only one way for him to go on this - ramp up the BS.

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Yep. At this point, that's like saying there's only one way for water to flow, or one direction where the sun rises.