CNN’s Jim Acosta is under fire again for an attempt to attack President Trump that critics say only serves to “divide” the country.
Soon after the CNN chief White House correspondent was slammed as a hypocrite for claiming Trump’s Oval Office address on the coronavirus crisis was “smacking of xenophobia,” Acosta earned fresh rebukes for an “idiotic” report aimed at making the president look bad.
But Acosta’s attempt to smear the president with his story headlined, “Source: Trump is concerned about coming into contact with people infected with coronavirus,” backfired with a major backlash.
“A source close to Donald Trump said the President is telling people close to him that he is indeed concerned about coming into contact with people who have contracted the coronavirus, including the Brazilian official who tested positive after coming face-to-face with Trump at Mar-a-Lago,” Acosta began his report.
He cited a single source “close to” the president who said Trump is “very concerned about all the people he met who have it, including the Brazilian,” referring to Fabio Wajngarten, the press secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Wajngarten tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, much to the delight of the left which celebrated the thought of the president possibly becoming infected. Reports that Bolsonaro had also tested positive were refuted by his son, Eduardo, who told Fox News the earlier reports were not correct.
Of course, the anonymous source Acosta quoted did not indicate whether the president was “very concerned” for himself or for others, but it did not stop Acosta or his network from repeating the “scoop” which only earned him more criticism.
“This is the most idiotic thing I’ve seen all week. And this week that’s saying something,” Media Research Center vice president Dan Gainor told Fox News.
“Of course, ‘Trump is concerned about coming into contact with people infected with coronavirus.’ We all are. And we’re all supposed to be. That’s how you stop a virus, by being concerned about who you interact with and taking precautions,” he said.
THIS IS CNN:
Acosta article, “Source: Trump is concerned about coming into contact with people infected with coronavirus”
A headline that could apply to 330,414,717 Americans.
. pic.twitter.com/aH5dcifvMj— Ken LaCorte (@KenLaCorte) March 13, 2020
“I know Jim Acosta hates Trump. But this is even stupid for one of the most ridiculous figures in the history of journalism,” Gainor told Fox News. “What’s amazing is Acosta isn’t even good at trolling Trump. All he does is embarrass CNN and further degrade the news industry.”
“CNN is trying to hurt Trump and divide our country in a time of national crisis,” he added.
“Acosta’s story “clearly falls into the category of ‘this is not news,’” DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall told Fox News.
“That CNN and its White House correspondent want to make a big deal out of a normal concern is just more indication of their wide-ranging agenda to pester the Trump administration,” he said.
“Any sensible person would prefer to avoid the virus, so reporting that Trump is concerned is really a ‘so what?’ moment journalistically,” McCall added. “Using an unnamed source to leak this story when there are plenty of on-the-record sources available to the media to discuss the matter is also curious. Given the many other important aspects of the COVID-19 situation that need attention, this comes off as a real journalistic tangent and waste of time.”
Acosta’s latest example of his and CNN’s anti-Trump bias followed on the heels of his remarks following the president’s address, apparently pushing China’s conspiracy theory that the coronavirus did not originate there.
“Now, why the president would go as far to describe it as a foreign virus, that is something we’ll also be asking questions about,” he said, adding that Trump is “going to come across to a lot of Americans as smacking of xenophobia.”
Jim @Acosta says it is “going to come across to a lot of Americans as smacking of xenophobia” with regards to Trump pointing out the coronavirus started out in Wuhan, China. pic.twitter.com/CFs1GVm3dt
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) March 12, 2020
Acosta was raked over the coals for his hypocrisy then, and was blasted afresh on Friday with his single-sourced report.
MRC director Tom Graham told Fox News the CNN story headline could just have been: “EVERYONE is concerned about coming into contact with people infected with coronavirus.”
“Never let a crisis go to waste.” #JimAcosta actually wrote a story about a secret source in the White House who whispered to him that “Trump is concerned about coming into contact with people infected with Coronavirus.” Could this guy and this network be any more repulsive? pic.twitter.com/X1czXM2FmR
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 13, 2020
When he says “sources close to the President” you know he is lying again.
— Rover3232 (@Rover32321) March 13, 2020
I understand he has been coddled & told he is wonderful his entire life, but he has to be told his degree is worthless & fake.CNN’s Chief Imbecile correspondent Jim Acosta blasted for ‘trying to hurt Trump and divide’ America with #coronapocalypse reporthttps://t.co/kiQK1yZNwf
— Dan Conry (@DanConry) March 13, 2020
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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