The heated exchange
The Post story seems so quaint and archaic now, written before the White House banned Jim Acosta.
President Trump lashed out at journalists during an afternoon press briefing, calling some of them “hostile,” instructing them to sit down and telling a CNN reporter, “You are a rude, terrible person.”
The heated exchange occurred Wednesday when CNN reporter Jim Acosta continued to question Trump after the president dismissed him during a news conference about the 2018 midterm elections. Acosta had brought up the Central American migrant caravan, asking the president why he characterized it as “an invasion.”
“I think you should let me run the country, you run CNN and if you did it well, your ratings would be much better,” Trump told Acosta.
Then when Acosta tried to question Trump about the Russia investigation, the president shouted: “That’s enough. That’s enough. That’s enough. That’s enough,” telling him to “put down the mic.”
Trump then told the reporter: “CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN. … You’re a very rude person. The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible. And the way you treat other people are horrible. You shouldn’t treat people that way.”
He didn’t actually say horrible, he said, as he always does, harrible. It’s one of his (50 or 60) go-to words but he doesn’t know how to pronounce it.
Trump has repeatedly clashed with the media, especially CNN, lashing out at reporters and calling their stories “fake news.” As The Washington Post’s Elise Viebeck reported, Trump snapped at yet another reporter later in the press conference after she noted that the president had once called himself a “nationalist” and asked him whether his embrace of “nationalism” is supporting white nationalists.
“I don’t know why you’d say that — that’s such a racist question,” Trump told PBS Newshour’s White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, who is black.
“Why do I have my highest poll numbers ever with African Americans?” he said. “Why do I have among the highest poll numbers with African Americans? I mean, why do I have my highest poll numbers?”
“That’s such a racist question,” he added. “Honestly, I know you have it written down and you’re going to tell me. Let me tell you, that’s a racist question.”
Afterwards CNN spoke up.
Following the confrontations, CNN said in a statement on Twitter that Trump’s “ongoing attacks on the press have gone too far.”
“They are not only dangerous, they are disturbingly un-American,” according to the statement. “While President Trump has made it clear he does not respect a free press, he has a sworn obligation to protect it. A free press is vital to democracy, and we stand behind Jim Acosta and his fellow journalists everywhere.”
So what does Trump do? Shut down the reporter. Tell him not to put his hand in the fire, he’ll put his hand in the fire just to show you you can’t tell him what to do.
CNN president Jeff Zucker reportedly said in a memo to employees Wednesday that “this organization believes fiercely in the protections granted to us by the First Amendment, and we will defend them, and you, vigorously, every time.”
“I want you to know that we have your backs,” Zucker wrote, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Welp, it will be interesting to see what he says now.
Now that’s what I call “fake news”. Unless, of course, he counts Ben Carson and Clarence Thomas as the only African Americans.
Can we not make fun of his accent? His pronunciation of horrible is well within the norms of American English. The problem is what he says, not how he says it.
What is the protocol meant to be in those press briefings?
From the bit I saw, Acosta in his own words was asking a follow-up question, implying that he’d already asked at least one question before the footage I saw started. Trump said he’d had his turn, and should put the mic down and have someone else ask a question. From which followed them talking over each other, Acosta asking a question, and Trump telling him to shut up.
In that case, what’s meant to happen? Who has precedence in those situations? Can one reporter just stand up and keep asking questions all day, not allowing another reporter a chance until they get bored, or does the president/WH have the authority in that situation to tell one of them to shut up and let someone else have a turn?
Yeah, for a guy from (parts of) NYC or New Jersey [harrible] (along with [arange] and [farrest]) is totally fine.
Serious question: Why do other reporters put up with this? Why don’t they stand up ask the same “forbidden” question over and over, until he answers it or they’re all kicked out?
“Harrible”.
My god I fucking hate his accent.
What a Maroon@#2:
No. It’s fair to castigate him for his boorish manner. Stop trying to tone-police. The president of the fucking United States of America should have some goddmaned culture and learning and not a simple reliance upon gilt.
To be quite clear: a boor is not defined by his accent. But a boor’s accent helps define the boor. Make that distinction.
Apparently a bot army was ready with claims of assault rapidly escalating to calls for Acosta’s arrest within moments of him having asked his question.
https://twitter.com/leahmcelrath/status/1060346819983667200?fbclid=IwAR2Xq6qnx-7-_hbIdS-aolwUFfkyb-TI_kdI-K0IREhc2opYOL7f7CcdQq0
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944/2162131653805284/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944/2162332760451840/?type=3&theater
I’m all for mocking Trump’s accent, tiny hands, stupid hair and mushroom penis. Ordinarily I wouldn’t be, but if Trump is not a special case, I don’t know who is. Mockery is exactly what is needed. It hurts him deeply. It’s the only thing that hurts him. He spent *years* obsessing about the tiny hands thing, for goodness’ sake. He invented at least one fictional character to ring people up to tell them that his hands are actually really big. The tiny-handed fucking freak.
We’re not talking about mocking someone with an actual affliction (dubious bone spurs notwithstanding), we’re mocking someone who does, in fact, mock people with actual afflictions. We’re talking about someone who calls people horrible for asking perfectly good questions while he himself puts babies in cages. We’re talking about someone who is doing everything he can to prevent the free press being free and reporters reporting. We’re talking about someone who has blatantly and in full sight of the entire world installed his own Wormtongue as overseer of an investigation into his own corrupt behaviour.
He doesn’t deserve the sort of respect I’d give to virtually every other human.
Besides, people take the piss out of my geordie/county durham accent all the time, bastards. I’m not sure the phonetic notation is quite up to how I pronounce “horrible”.
I confess I wonder what purpose these press conferences and briefings, and their little dramas, genuinely serve. It was noticeable during George W. Bush’s reign that press conferences with him and press briefings with his press secretary, who like Trump’s press secretaries simply lied through their teeth and recited ridiculous talking points and ‘spin’, always made the news, largely because of their entertainment value, I suspect: ‘liberals’ could feel pleasantly enraged by the brazen-ness of it all and look forward to seeing the spokespeople being put on the spot in the future (they never were, so far as I can remember, and if they were, it didn’t matter anyway), while so-called ‘conservatives’ could have the pleasure of seeing ‘liberals’ being blocked or put down and shown to be powerless. There was excitement on both sides as to who would win these pitiful little contests, though it was mostly a fore-gone conclusion. It was noticeable that once Obama became president, the regular briefings ceased to be ‘news’ — they simply weren’t televised or talked about, for they weren’t fun any more. And now Trump, himself! Sean Spicer! and Sarah Bugaboo Slanders! It’s all great fun — the outrage! the glee at seeing someone from CNN or whoever put down, even expelled! I think the best thing would be for everyone bar Fox News to boycott Trumpian press conferences and Slanderous press briefings, and let the perverted speak to the perverted in little sub rosa episodes of sterile gratification.
Telephone call for Mister Harrible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pud7rt4KhU
The thing that strikes me is that this was not a heated exchange. Trump didn’t lose his temper. He didn’t even seem to get angry. The way an actual human might.
As Ophelia has said, Trump seems to have no functional theory of mind and perhaps this clip illustrates that. He’s angry all the time, but not at actual people, who he barely notices. He’s angry at any restrictions to how many scoops of ice cream he can have.
I’m angry all the time, but it’s mostly at shitty things actual people have done.
So… that makes me….better than Trump….?
@Laurel, that song has been playing in my head all day.
Also @Laurel, thanks for reminding me of a TMBG gig I went to in Redcar or all places, more years ago than there are atoms in the universe. It was a really good gig.
I say “Redcar of all places” because it is the second worst seaside town in the UK. Second only to the ironically-named Blyth.
What a Maroon @ 2 – nah.
I mean, sure, we can, to answer your literal question. I’m not telling anyone else to object to the way he pronounces “horrible.” But can I not? No. I can’t defer to your request that I not object to the way Trump pronounces “horrible” because I don’t want to, for the reasons others have given, and more. I disagree that his way is well within the norms of American English; it is at best very provincial. He’s the president of all the people, not just the people of Queens. He should have a better ear, and be more adaptable, and more able to learn.
Now, if he were an underling, I wouldn’t do it, and if he were a mensch, I wouldn’t do it. Barney Frank can talk New Joisey all he wants; on him it looks good. But Trump is neither an underling nor a mensch so no.
Groovy, now I feel compelled to explain my accent.
Why aye hinny and so on. Fair enough, now I come to think of it, it’s the third most ridiculous accent in Britain.
But the great thing about the UK is that there’s a different accent every few meters (or metres if you prefer). RP has gone the way of the dodo.
Haddaway and piss up a rope.
By which I mean yes. It’s how we talk around here.
I’m not proud of it.
Obviously I am slightly proud of it. Sorry.
Tim Harris @#11: I’ve long maintained that Trump owes his victory to CNN at least as much as FOX. During the primaries and the run-up to November 2016, it was routine for them to have a camera pointing at an empty podium, with the text bar reading, “Trump to give speech minutes from now” or somesuch–often for as long as half an hour. During the entire time, the talking head class (who often didn’t even get a little pop-up window for their heads) would prattle on in a grotesque sort of pre-game show, speculating about what he would say.
Meanwhile, in general, the other candidates would get little snippets of their speeches aired, after the fact, or even just a quick summary delivered by an anchor as a newsbite.
That empty podium gave Trump a presence that far outweighed his merit.
Should Bernie ditch his Brooklyn accent? Should (Bill) Clinton have left Arkansas behind? Likewise, Carter and Georgia. JFK. FDR. They are all known for their strong regional accents.
I don’t think presidents should take elocution lessons to lose their regional accents and adopt the so-called neutral dialect of TV anchors.
Trump is hideous. But his accent is fine.
Presidents should not. “presidents” are a different matter.
Or to put it another way, who fucking cares about such nonsense when presidents are putting babies in cages?
I say “hah-rrible” as well. I had to use “haw-ribble” in a song once because it was part of the joke in the song. I say “ah-range”, and tease those who say “aw-range”. I’ve lost some aspects of my New York accent over the years, but some I hang onto deliberately and emphatically.
I don’t think a politician need change an accent just to match the speech of others. GWB (from New England) picked up a Texas accent, but Jimmy Carter speaks with his native drawl. Trump’s speech is grating to my ears, but because of his manner of speech and what he is saying, not because of his largely familiar pronunciation.
But sure, you are welcome to criticize New York pronunciation. I champion New York pronunciation over other variants all the time, and other people do the reverse.
Well that’s what I mean – generally I like New York accents. I grew up in the orbit of New York and started sneaking off there for the afternoon when I was 15. I like DeNiro’s NY accent, and Pacino’s, and so on. But Trump doesn’t have that accent. Trump has a trump accent.
I did quarrel with W’s accent because it’s so fucking fake.
I cannot stand Texas accents, or most southern accents, because even when genuine, they sound fake to me. And because my brother affected a southern accent once we moved to Oklahoma, and my brother is Trump with no power or money. So when I hear a southern accent, I always think of him.
I think a lot of it with Trump is that he so mangles the language in a way that doesn’t have to do with accents. Dubya did the same thing. Some of it, I suspect with Dubya anyway, is deliberate to make themselves look dumb because their constituency doesn’t like “smart” and associates well-spoken with “coastal elite”. Trump is the very epitome of elite – richer than almost everyone else, and born into it – and he is also coastal, but for some reason, I am viewed as a coastal elite though I do not live on the coasts and make a teacher’s pay – because I use the English language with at least some minor understanding of how it works, because I know how to use a semicolon, and because I believe in social justice and support pro-choice candidates. How’s that for Orwellian doublespeak? Coastal elite = don’t live on the coast and are not particularly elite.
The Incredible Hulk?
The Hulk is definitely better than Trump.
Dirty tricks from the White House?
https://abc.net.au/news/2018-11-09/sarah-sanders-accused-of-sharing-doctored-jim-acosta-video/10480486
I recommend this from the Guardian:
The US press corps has to learn to stand up to Trump
by Suzanne Moore
It asks the question why the American Press Corps keep playing Trump’s game.
Regarding ‘harrible’, it is not so much Trump’s pronunciation of particular words I cannot stand as his soft, glutinous voice; it is like having liquefied slugs poured into one’s ear.