At a White House press briefing, CNN’s Jim Acosta repeatedly asked White House press secretary Sarah Sanders to say the press isn’t the enemy of the American people. She didn’t.
“I’m tired of this. It is not right,” Acosta said afterward, expressing frustration after days of tense anti-press rhetoric. “It is not fair. It is not just. It is un-American to come out here and call the press the enemy of the people. And Ivanka Trump knows that. I don’t know why her father doesn’t.”
Acosta followed up with his thoughts later on CNN:
"I'm tired of this," @Acosta says. "It is not right" to call the press the "enemy of the people." Watch this clip. pic.twitter.com/rcqB5FiSCy— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 2, 2018
I walked out of the end of that briefing because I am totally saddened by what just happened. Sarah Sanders was repeatedly given a chance to say the press is not the enemy and she wouldn't do it. Shameful.— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 2, 2018
Jim @Acosta is a national treasure. pic.twitter.com/ydrAGHlgZh— John Aravosis (@aravosis) August 3, 2018
.@PressSec just flat out refused to state unequivocally that the press is not the enemy of the American people to @Acosta.
Think about that.
It's the only profession explicitly stated and protected in the Constitution.
It is the fourth estate of the American government.— Brian Sims (@BrianSimsPA) August 2, 2018
Sarah Huckabee Sanders does not answer whether the press is the enemy of the people.
This is your regular reminder that the last Administration to attack the press this way was … the Nixon Administration.
Our framers were wise to protect the press in the Constitution. https://t.co/xwFid2mg7L— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 2, 2018
Jim Acosta deserves a fucking statue.— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) August 2, 2018