CNN’s chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta challenged President Trump to grant him an one-on-one interview.
“I dare him to sit down with me,” Acosta said during an interview Wednesday on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” when pressed by the host.
Despite his confrontational manner in the briefing room, Acosta told Kimmel he has professional relationships with former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and his successor Sarah Sanders.
But he said they weren’t bowling buddies after hours — a similar dynamic he shared with communications staffers serving the Obama administration.
“We try to have a good relationship. This is a job, I think she understands that,” he continued, referring specifically to Sanders.
Acosta said he wore his reputation for asking tough questions “as a badge of honor,” adding that he didn’t feel sorry for White House communications aides because they should be held accountable if they lie to the American people.
“They signed up for this,” he said, also quoting former President Franklin Roosevelt, “I welcome their hatred.”
