President Trump mocks CNN's Jim Acosta over Twitter video at border wall
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump joined a chorus of Republicans on Thursday in mocking Jim Acosta, CNN's chief White House correspondent, on Twitter for a video the journalist posted showing areas of the border that had a wall.
Acosta, who traveled to Texas for the president's border visit, posted a video on Twitter of him walking alongside a steel-slated fence at the U.S.-Mexico border. He said he didn't "see anything resembling a national emergency."
"We're not seeing any kind of imminent danger. There are no migrants trying to rush toward this fence here in the McAllen, Texas, area," Acosta said. "No sign of the national emergency that the president has been talking about. As a matter of fact, it's pretty tranquil down here."
Almost instantly, conservatives said the video showed that walls and barriers along the border were working. Fox News' Tucker Carlson used the video as part of an opening monologue. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders thanked Acosta, saying he was "doing our job for us and so clearly explaining why WALLS WORK."
I found some steel slats down on the border. But I don’t see anything resembling a national emergency situation.. at least not in the McAllen TX area of the border where Trump will be today. pic.twitter.com/KRoLdszLUu
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 10, 2019
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The president also chimed in on Twitter, writing "Dear Diary" atop Acosta's video.
Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, said Acosta's video was one of the "best self-own videos," showing that "walls work."
Dear Diary... https://t.co/NAuMaQW6fl
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2019
Acosta fended off criticism, telling Sanders that she was "twisting the truth."
"As we have been reporting today there are other sections of the border that don’t have walls or slats. Yet, the residents here feel safe," Acosta wrote on Twitter.
He also got into a back-and-forth with the president's son, asking Trump Jr. that if current measures were working why couldn't the government be reopened? Acosta also questioned whether Trump Jr. was "headed down to Mexico to pick up the check" for the border wall.
Totally get it Don. Thanks for setting me straight. So you’re headed down to Mexico to pick up the check? #buhbye https://t.co/SnGH04gTL6
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 11, 2019
He ended each tweet with variations of #byebye, a reference to how President Trump ended a meeting with Democratic leaders at the White House on Wednesday.
Acosta has clashed with the president and White House several times throughout the Trump presidency. Acosta's press credentials were temporarily revoked at the White House after a contentious exchange with Trump during a news conference when the president called Acosta a "rude, terrible person."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump mocks CNN's Jim Acosta over Twitter video at border wall
