Jim Acosta has a big mouth, and that’s fine. The CNN White House correspondent didn’t miss an opportunity to pepper President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with questions.
He shouted as they exited a conference room at the Capella Hotel after a 35-minute meeting. “Any progress, Mr. President?” Acosta called out without a response before hollering “Chairman Kim, will you denuclearize?”
Trump tells me he has an “excellent relationship” with Kim Jong Un at #TrumpKimSummit pic.twitter.com/pDig6tqHDj
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 12, 2018
He shouted again as they sat together at the signing ceremony. “Mr. President, did we agree to denuclearize,” Acosta blurted as Trump and Kim scribbled. “Did you talk about Otto Warmbier, sir?” And this time, Trump offered some short answers that he would later expand on during the press conference.
CNN’s Jim Acosta interrupts a historic signing ceremony with North Korea, shouts questions at President Trump. #TrumpKimSummit pic.twitter.com/6SJPOFvcto
— Ryan Saavedra ?? (@RealSaavedra) June 12, 2018
Jim Acosta, you may be aware, is not a beloved figure on the American Right, or among Trump fans. Accordingly, Acosta’s impolite behavior earned him some scorn on social media Tuesday.
Ryan Saavedra of the Daily Wire tried assuring any foreign dignitaries watching that not all American journalists are “as annoying and obnoxious.” Greg Wilson of Fox News groaned that “Kim got a taste of CNN’s grandstanding newsman at historic summit.” Chicks on the Right collectively clutched their pearls at “the disgrace” and called for “his press credentials to be pulled STAT.”
But if the chubby, mass-murdering madman was offended by the American journalist, he didn’t show it. Kim’s bloated jowls never moved. Another person not outraged by Acosta: Trump. He entertained Acosta’s interjections. He even praised him during the press conference for asking a “very fair question.” Perhaps the pro-Trump crowd should follow their president’s example.
By now Trump expects this kind of grandstanding from Acosta. Everyone does. Without his own show on CNN, the correspondent tries to turn White House press briefings into the Acosta hour. Annoying? Yes. Unexpected? Not at all. Acosta has always forced politicians to give off-the-cuff answers. Bipartisan in his opportunism, he has forced the last two presidents into impromptu press conferences during photo ops. Conservatives used to like this sort of thing.
When former President Barack Obama flew to Cuba in the final year of his presidency, it was Acosta who grilled leader Raul Castro during a joint press conference. A report from Fox News noted that Castro was “never subjected to aggressive questioning” and praised the CNN reporter for delivering “one of the most dramatic moments of the trip.”
Acosta pushed Castro on the political prisoners rotting in tropical gulags and, remarkably, the dictator promised through an interpreter that “if there are political prisoners they’ll be free before nightfall.”
Journalists didn’t get the same access to Kim that they enjoyed with Castro. Hence the shouting. And maybe it was pointless. The supreme leader can compose operas, win international yacht races, and overcome the need for basic bodily functions. He cannot, however, speak English. But at least Kim learned what it’s like to deal with the free press. That’s all thanks to Acosta’s big mouth, and that’s a good thing.
