Mnuchin Cuts Jim Acosta Down to Size for 'Most Ridiculous Question I've Ever Heard'
A “ridiculous” question from CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta cost him a little bit of pride and some mocking from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in an encounter that was caught on camera.
Acosta asked the question Tuesday at a frenzied news briefing headed by Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which took place after President Donald Trump announced the departure of National Security Advisor John Bolton.
After being called on, Acosta asked, “Is this national security team a mess?”
“Absolutely not,” Mnuchin said. “That’s the most ridiculous question I’ve ever heard of.”
After John Bolton’s firing, CNN’s Jim @Acosta asks: “Is this National Security team a mess?” @stevenmnuchin1: “Absolutely not. That’s the most ridiculous question I’ve ever heard.” pic.twitter.com/v47bYMd0Pr
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) September 10, 2019
“The national security team, which is what you asked,” Mnuchin continued, “consists of the national security advisor, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, myself, the chief of staff and many others.”
After the brutal reality check, Acosta attempted to ask another question, but was quickly passed over.
It didn’t take long for the exchange to make its way to Twitter, where conservatives picked it up as more evidence of the sorry state of both Acosta and CNN.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee even chimed in on the matter in his own hilarious fashion, celebrating how Mnuchin “spanks little Jimmy Acosta and sends him home w/o a popsicle.”
Bam! @stevenmnuchin1 spanks little Jimmy Acosta and sends him home w/o a popsicle. And Jimmy should know that a mess is what CNN has become. Or maybe more accurate to say, a joke. https://t.co/iPbZvwGm1o
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) September 10, 2019
As embarrassing as it is, this isn’t Acosta’s first gaffe during a briefing.
Acosta infamously lost his White House media pass after hogging a microphone, even refusing to surrender it to a White House aide.
The fallout from that incident drove Acosta to descend into full victim mode.
It took a lawsuit from Acosta’s employer, CNN, to finally have his hard pass reinstated. But Acosta was given a list of rules and decorum to follow, in the same way a child would get explanations on how to behave around others.
Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had her own brutal encounters with Acosta that left him reeling.
And although the days of Sanders scorching Acosta are gone, the CNN icon will likely continue to humiliate himself regardless of who is answering his questions.
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