CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta on Wednesday defended himself from conservatives who accused him of insulting President Trump’s supporters.
“Regarding my interview with Variety, my comments have been twisted by some outlets,” he said. “As you can plainly see, I’m not referring to Trump supporters. I am talking about people who threaten journalists.”
Attached to the tweet was a transcript of Acosta’s remarks, wherein he said that Trump’s slights against the news media are “an act,” but that some people who hear them may take them seriously.
[Also read: CNN’s Jim Acosta: Trump’s attacks on media are ‘an act’ that could inspire violence against journalists]
“The problem is that people around the country don’t know it’s an act,” he said in the interview. “They’re not in on the act, and they take what he says very seriously, and they take attacks from [former White House press secretary] Sean Spicer and Sarah Sanders and what they do to us on a daily basis very seriously.”
“They don’t have all their faculties in some cases — their elevator might not hit all floors,” he added. “My concern is that a journalist is going to be hurt one of these days.”
Regarding my interview with Variety, my comments have been twisted by some outlets. As you can plainly see, I’m not referring to Trump supporters. I am talking about people who threaten journalists. Links to transcript and video below. https://t.co/SpEBiyVyQd pic.twitter.com/KZ7tkllEHQ
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) April 25, 2018
Though Acosta never specifically mentioned Trump voters or conservatives, some on the Right took his comments as a direct insult.
“I don’t mind that from a liberal activist,” Spicer, Trump’s former White House press secretary, said Wednesday on Fox News in response to Acosta’s remarks. “But when you have a reporter … saying that the people don’t get it, that’s a problem.”
Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin called Acosta’s remarks “a common disparagement of Trump voters.”
