Last week, the Trump administration made the curious decision to not allow cameras to roll during the daily press briefing (and did not give a reason for that decision). This move was met with annoyance and anger by some in the press corps, but none as fiercely as CNN’s Jim Acosta, who confronted Spicer at today’s briefing. In the above audio clip, Acosta (along with an OANN reporter) repeatedly asked the press secretary why he wouldn’t turn on the cameras, to which Spicer said he didn’t want to overshadow Trump’s Rose Garden statement.
Following a continuing war of words throughout the weekend, Acosta was in no mood for today’s video-less briefing format. The CNN correspondent fired off a series of tweets lambasting the administration from keeping information from the American public.
Like the off camera briefing, this is an attempt to get the coverage without the accountability. https://t.co/VFrEsmx4W5
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 26, 2017
The United States government will not be allowing camera coverage of today's WH briefing. Audio only… embargoed until the end.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 26, 2017
This is not campaign event. This is the WH. We are sitting in a briefing room full of cameras and taxpayer funded spokesman at podium. https://t.co/73a23TIVOx
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 26, 2017
I asked Spicer if we could turn the cameras on at today's briefing. He ignored the question.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 26, 2017
According to other reporters at the briefing, Acosta asked Spicer more than once about the cameras.
https://twitter.com/hunterw/status/879402271620169728
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 26, 2017
The Daily Beast reports that Acosta and Spicer’s interaction was even testier than Acosta’s tweets suggest:
When Acosta tried to get in a question, Spicer admonished him, saying, “There’s no camera on, Jim.” This led to a tense exchange between the two men, with Acosta shouting back, “Maybe we should turn the cameras on, Sean, why don’t we turn the cameras on? Why not turn the cameras on? They’re in the room, the lights are on!” Spicer ignored him.
The whole interaction was very confrontational and far from the usual niceties that happen between reporters and government officials. Seems like this whole thing could be solved by signing up for Instagram or Periscope.
(via Daily Beast)