President Donald Trump called CNN’s senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta “fake news” during an event at the White House on Monday.
After the president signed an act addressing China trade policy, Acosta — who has clashed with Trump, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and former Press Secretary Sean Spicer at various times over the last eight months – shouted out, “Can you explain why you did not condemn those hate groups by name over the weekend?”
“They’ve been condemned. They have been condemned,” Trump fired back.
Trump was criticized for not singling out white supremacist in his initial statements regarding the weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one person died and 19 others were injured while protesting. Trump issued a statement earlier on Monday that finally condemned the groups by name.
Acosta and Trump had a heated exchange and the president eventually said, “I like real news, not fake news. You’re fake news.”
Trump famously pointed to Acosta early in his presidency and called him “fake news,” a label that the president now associates with CNN on a regular basis.
As the president walked away, Acosta shouted, “Mr. President, haven’t you spread a lot of fake news yourself, sir?”
CNN's @Acosta to Trump: Can we ask you more questions?
Trump: "I like real news, not fake news. You're fake news." https://t.co/m4KiTC6lrK— CNN (@CNN) August 14, 2017