The controversial clash between Jim Acosta and the White House has been no bad thing for the profile of the CNN correspondent.
Acosta gained more than 200,000 Twitter followers this week, after his public clash with President Trump, and now has more than 1 million followers. An analysis by SocialBlade, which tracks social media activity, showed Friday that Acosta gained about 235,000 followers since Wednesday, the day of the confrontation.
A simple tweet of a picture of a Acosta wearing sunglasses in front of the Eiffel Tower — where he is awaiting Trump’s presidential visit — has been liked more than 48,000 times, retweeted more than 5,500 times, and has received more than 7,900 replies.
“Greetings from Paris where we are on the ground for Trump’s trip to France. #1A,” Acosta told his followers, referring the to First Amendment, which enshrines free speech.
Greetings from Paris where we are on the ground for Trump’s trip to France. #1A pic.twitter.com/rno9bPFcJV
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 9, 2018
Acosta’s Twitter stock went up after he asked Trump to explain his emphasis on the caravan of Central American migrants headed to the southern border, which Trump has repeatedly referred to as “an invasion.”
When Trump attempted to move on to another questioner, Acosta held onto the microphone to continue asking questions and blocked an intern who was trying to take back the microphone.
“You are a rude, terrible person,” Trump said to Acosta, also reprimanding him for what he said was “horrible” treatment of White House press secretary Sarah Sanders at the daily press briefings. The White House subsequently said it was suspending Acosta’s credentials that gain him access to the White House grounds.
Acosta still has some way to go before he overtakes his antagonist — Trump currently has more than 55.5 million followers on Twitter.
