Araweelo News Network
US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York, January 11, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
During the contentious exchange at Trump Tower on Wednesday, CNN’s Jim Acosta pressed Trump to take a follow-up question after the president-elect assailed CNN for publishing a report Tuesday which included allegations that Russian operatives claimed to possess compromising personal and financial information about Trump.
“Mr. President -elect since you are attacking our news organization can you give us a chance,” asked Acosta.
“Not you, your organization is terrible!” Trump shouted back. “I’m not going to give you a question. You are fake news!”
“Don’t be rude,” Trump interjected, after Acosta called his response “not appropriate” and tried to press on with his question.
On late Tuesday, CNN covered a report originally published by BuzzFeed News, alleging that Russia was in possession of “compromising” personal and financial information about Trump.
The report dominated Trump’s press briefing, which was his first since July of last year.
The New York billionaire slammed the media for spreading unsubstantiated news and said the release of such details about him would amount to a “tremendous blot” on the record of the US intelligence community.
CNN issued a statement after the presser, saying that its reporting on the so-called Russia dossier was “vastly different” from the one by other outlets and the “Trump team knows this.”
Acosta said in a separate report that Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer threatened to expel him from Trump Tower if he insisted to ask questions after his exchange with the incoming president.
Spicer responded in a Fox News interview by calling on the reporter to apologize to Trump and “the entire press corps” over his “childish and inappropriate” behavior.
“If you want to have a conversation and engage in a polite and respectful manner with the president-elect, he’s gonna treat you in kind,” Spicer said. “But if you come in hot and want to be disrespectful and rude, as Jim Acosta was today, he’s not gonna sit back and take it. This is a man who fights and wins.”