It’s not often a reporter gets to become the news but not so with Jim Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent.
Acosta covers the Trump administration and previously covered the Obama administration from the White House and around the world.
He regularly covers presidential press conferences, visits by heads of states, and issues impacting the Executive Branch of the federal government.
However, Acosta has gained fame from his aggressive and penetrative questioning of President Trump.
Below is one of his recent encounters with the President:
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. I — I wonder if you could comment on this disconnect that we seem to have in this country where you are presenting information about what’s happening at the border, calling it an invasion, talking about women with duct tape over their mouths and so on.
And yet there’s a lot of reporting out there, there’s a lot of crime data out there, there’s a lot of Department of Homeland Security data out there that shows border crossings at a near record low…
TRUMP: That’s because of us. But it’s still — excuse me…
QUESTION: That shows undocumented immigrants committing crimes at lower levels…
TRUMP: It’s still massive numbers of crossings.
QUESTIONS: Shows undocumented criminals — or undocumented immigrants committing crimes at lower levels than native-born Americans.
What — what do you say to…
TRUMP: You don’t — you don’t really believe that stat, do you? Do you really believe that stat? Take a look at our federal prisons.
QUESTION: What do you — well let me ask you this. I believe — I believe in facts and statistics (inaudible).
TRUMP: OK. Anymore? Quick, let’s go.
QUESTION: Let me just ask you this. What do you say to your critics who say that you are creating a national emergency, that you’re concocting a national emergency here in order to get your wall because you couldn’t get it through other ways?
TRUMP: I as the Angel Moms, what do you think? Do you think I’m creating something? Ask these incredible women who lost their daughters and their sons, OK? Because your question is a very political question because you have an agenda, you’re CNN, you’re fake news, you have an agenda.
The numbers that you gave are wrong. Take a look at our federal prison population, see how many of them percentage wise are illegal aliens, just see. Go ahead and see. It’s a fake question. Yes, go ahead.
QUESTION: Can I ask a follow-up?
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Just to follow up on that, you — unifying crime reporting statistics, numbers from your own Border Patrol, numbers from this government, show that the amount of illegal immigrants are down, there is not violence on the border and that most…
TRUMP: There’s not violence on the border (ph)?
QUESTION: There’s not as much violence as — wait a minute — wait a minute — let me finish the question…
TRUMP: Oh really? You had 26 people killed?
QUESTION: Please, let me finish the question, please.
TRUMP: Two weeks ago, 26 people were killed in a gunfight on the border.
QUESTION: I understand what the — I understand what you’re saying.
TRUMP: A mile away from where I went.
QUESTION: I — I was there, I understand. That’s not the question. The question is…
TRUMP: Do we forget about that?
QUESTION: No, I’m not forgetting about it, I’m asking you to clarify where you get your numbers because most of the DEA crime reporting statistics that we see show that drugs are coming across at the ports of entry, that illegal immigration is down and that the violence is down.
So, what do you base your facts on?
TRUMP: OK. Let me — come on, let’s go.
QUESTION: And secondly…
TRUMP: No, no, you get one, you get one.
Wait, sit down, sit down.
QUESTION: Could you — could you please answer it.
TRUMP: Sit down! You get one question.
QUESTION: Please?
TRUMP: I get my numbers from a lot of sources, like Homeland Security primarily, and the numbers that I have from Homeland Security are a disaster.
And you know what else is a disaster? The numbers that come out of Homeland Security, Kirstjen, for the cost that we spend and the money that we lose because of illegal immigration, billions and billions of dollars a month. Billions and billions of dollars, and it’s unnecessary.
QUESTION: So, your own government’s stats are wrong, are you saying?
TRUMP: No, no, I use many stats. I use many stats.
QUESTION: Could you share those stats with us?
TRUMP: Let me tell you, you have stats that are far worse than the ones that I use, but I use many stats, but I also use Homeland Security. All right, next question.
QUESTION: And do you — wait a minute — just a quick follow-up…
TRUMP: No, go, please.
Yvad billings, Readers Bureau, Fellow
Edited by Jesus Chan
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