Jim Acosta hailed for slamming Trump on 'fake news' hypocrisy amid propagation of false stories in 2016

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: CNN anchor Jim Acosta has criticized former President Donald Trump for labeling CNN as “fake news” since his 2016 presidential campaign, in light of recent revelations that he was involved in spreading false news about his rivals through the National Enquirer publisher, David Pecker.

Acosta commenced CNN's Friday coverage of the Stormy Daniels hush money-election interference trial, where he openly criticized Trump for his infamous exchange during a January 2017 press conference.

Mediaite reported that co-host Kaitlan Collins also emphasized the relationship between National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and its extension "into the White House."

What did Jim Acosta say regarding Donald Trump calling CNN 'fake news'?

The CNN anchor began Friday’s show on Trump's hush money criminal case, informing the audience, saying, "At this moment, the jury is hearing testimony from former tabloid executive David Pecker, a man who says he still considers Donald Trump a friend despite spending the week laying out their alleged scheme to bury negative stories on Trump and illegally influence the 2016 election."

Acosta turned to his co-host Kaitlin Collins, and asked her, "I have to say, I mean, you know, you and I, Kristen as well, Jamie, all of us, we all remember the 2016 campaign. And for all of this talk of fake news, I mean, David Pecker is really laying out the scheme to not only kill negative stories but pump out fake news beneficial to Donald Trump."

"Yes, and something that went from the campaign, but also into the White House, where he was on the phone, with White House officials," Collins explained.

"And right now what’s happening, just for an update for everyone, is David Pecker is back on the stand, he’s being cross-examined by Trump’s attorneys, and they are obviously trying to undermine everything that prosecutors laid out, this idea that there was a conspiracy hatched between Donald Trump and David Pecker to try to hurt his Republican rivals leading up to the 2016 campaign. It’s also to go after Hillary and Bill Clinton," Collins added.

"And so the way that they’re doing it right now is they’re questioning him about Ben Carson and stories that they had that they were publishing, implying that he had botched surgeries as a doctor."

And what they’re basically trying to say is this was something that was already out there in other outlets. The National Enquirer was just recycling it. So, this isn’t something that was just a Donald Trump and David Pecker plan," the CNN host further clarified.

"Oh, it was just out there, yes," Acosta remarked.

Collins replied, "They just asked David Pecker, would you have published this without that conversation in August 2015 with Trump? And David Pecker testified, yes."

She also said, "So, really, you know, when I was speaking to Trump sources yesterday about what their plan is with this cross-examination, what their goal is, they really just want to undermine the idea that this is a conspiracy to get Donald Trump elected, that really it was just the National Enquirer doing what the National Enquirer does."

Acosta then involved former associate White House Counsel under Donald Trump, Jim Schultz, in the discussion by seeking his perspective on the developments, stating, "Yes. Jim, I mean, we haven’t gone to you yet. What, I mean, your reaction to what we’ve been witnessing thus far."

Schultz said, "So, right. I think it’s all about dirtying up the National Enquirer, right, and the industry in general, this — they called it checkbook journalism, I think, yesterday. They used the word standard operating procedure time and time again."

Acosta chimed in, "And, Jim, we should note this right here on the side of the screen, just to keep giving our audience these excerpts, Bove confirms with Pecker that other outlets covered malpractice claims against Ben Carson in May of 2015. It sounds as though what — and you can see some of the headlines there on the screen there, Ted Cruz shamed by porn star, bungling surgeon Ben Carson left a sponge in patient’s brain."

"I mean, you know, first of all, take all of these headlines with a grain of salt, as we do with the National Enquirer. But it sounds like what the defense is trying to do is say, hey, wait a minute, all of that stuff, sort of, kind of floating out there anyway," he added.

"It’s part of politics, it’s part of celebrity culture," Schultz claimed. "It’s all — you know, that that’s — the argument is that that is — this is all part of kind of the, the dirty business of tabloid journalism. And I think you’re going to hear more and more about that. Now they’re moving on the Marco Rubio, right? So, they’re going to go through each one."

"And they talk about a little bit about Schwarzenegger, right, celebrity/politician. They’re trying to make analogies here that this is kind of just the way they do business," the former Trump staffer asserted.

Internet hails Acosta and trashes Trump

One person said, "with the right wing, whatever they scream at you, they are always talking about themselves." [sic]

Another person remarked, "Every accusation is a confession."

Another person wrote, "Exactly. Finally someone in the media calls this ridiculous hypocrisy out. And not only did the right wing craft literal fake news, but also fake electors lol." [sic]

One person claimed, "You know, the thing about Trump, and I'm not the only person who's noticed this, is he's engaged in what psychologists call projection. Whenever he denies thinking about doing something or doing it, it's almost guaranteed he is thinking about it or he's already done it."

"Same goes when he accuses legitimate news organizations of being 'fake news' when he's been peddling literal fake stories to tabloid trash rags for decades," the person added. 

Another person quipped, "Most Republicans only have the phrase 'we the people' memorized. Everything else is just gobbledygook."

Finally, this individual said, "Trump vomited his usual lies upon departing the courtroom, today. Trump's Daily Disinformation Dump."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.