President Trump accused CNN’s Jim Acosta of spreading “fake news” at the White House on Monday, after Acosta asked why Trump decided against holding a formal press conference with reporters.
Trump, top administration officials, and members of the White House press corps gathered in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House to hear the president announce an investigation into China’s intellectual property laws. At the end of the press conference, Acosta, CNN’s senior White House correspondent, asked Trump why it took him two days to condemn white nationalist groups who rallied in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday.
“They’ve been condemned,” Trump responded, referencing his comments on the violence in Charlottesville earlier Monday. “They have been condemned.”
Trump tells CNN’s Jim Acosta: “I like real news, you are fake news” over questions about Charlottesville reaction pic.twitter.com/0feoElc6lg
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 14, 2017
Acosta pressed Trump on why he wasn’t holding a press conference to take questions on the events in Charlottesville from reporters.
“It doesn’t bother me at all, but I like real news, not fake news,” Trump told Acosta of taking questions from the media. “You’re fake news.”
In response, the CNN reporter asked Trump, “Haven’t you spread a lot of fake news yourself?”
Trump was criticized over the weekend for failing to denounce specific white nationalist groups who rallied in Charlottesville on Saturday. The racist groups clashed with counter-protesters, and one woman died and 19 others were injured after a 20-year-old man plowed his car into the counter-demonstrators.
