CNN’s Jim Acosta seems like a reporter with a bunch of tough questions aimed at keeping President Trump’s White House honest, until you realize that even Acosta doesn’t care much about the answers.
Acosta is king of the rhetorical questions, which he asks to make a point or grandstand, but not to get much of an answer in return.
The brash chief White House reporter for CNN is apparently delivering just what CNN wants: a steady stream of inquiries that make noise, but don’t go anywhere, and are closer to antagonism than journalism.
Other reporters ask about followup steps in a policy deliberation, or who Trump will meet with next. Acosta just wants to know if the White House believes it is as stupid or racist or bumbling as he thinks it is. Predictably, those sorts of questions don’t yield much.
On Wednesday, for example, Acosta asked about his favorite topic, the press, and smirked as he asked in disbelief, “Are you trying to say that this administration is a champion of a free press?”
When Sanders didn’t say Trump wants to tear up the First Amendment, Acosta made it clear her answer didn’t matter, and he helpfully gave her the answer he was looking for: “The president’s tone towards the press is obviously not helpful at times and I think that’s plain to see.”
It was more of the same on Monday, when Acosta essentially asked if Trump made a racist remark about immigrants.
This question was a head-scratcher. Trump had tweeted that many sanctuary areas want “out of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept.” A clunky line, but one that pretty clearly seemed to be saying that sanctuary cities have proliferated, and now some want out.
But Acosta wanted to know if he was really saying that illegal immigrants themselves are “breeding” too quickly for Trump’s liking.
“When he used the word ‘breeding,’ was he making a derogatory term about Latinos in California — that they breed a lot or that they’re prone to breeding?” he asked.
A double-whammy for Acosta: a misreading of the line to build a flimsy case that Trump is a racist, and another showy question designed to be asked out loud. Sanders predictably said no, Trump wasn’t talking about the “breeding” habits of immigrants.
He was at it again in early April, when he asked if it’s “unbecoming” for Trump to attack former FBI Director James Comey.
Then, because Trump tweeted during the campaign that someone is losing a political fight if they attack an FBI agent, Acosta asked if Trump’s attacks on Comey show that he’s losing. The White House, surprisingly, didn’t agree that Trump was losing.
At best, Acosta seems to be hoping for a moment out of “A Few Good Men” where the bad guy caves and admits all his wrongdoings just to escape the sheer intensity (and dashing good looks) of the questioner. “You got us, Jim, we ordered the code red.”
But more likely, Acosta just enjoys playing to the crowd, attacking the White House through innuendo with questions aimed at telling the world what he thinks.
Isn’t Trump racist?
Aren’t you guys all stupid?
Don’t you hate the First Amendment?
It’s hard enough to get real information from any White House press briefing. It’s even harder to understand why CNN thinks Acosta’s method is the best approach.
