CNN reporter Jim Acosta called hecklers dangerous and warned someone could get hurt after many yelled at him during President Trump’s rally in Tampa Tuesday night.
Mr. Acosta warned that hostility “whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media” could be dangerous.
“We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy,” he wrote on Twitter.
Just a sample of the sad scene we faced at the Trump rally in Tampa. I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy. pic.twitter.com/IhSRw5Ui3R
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 1, 2018
Mr. Acosta’s comment comes just a month after a deadly shooting at the Capital-Gazette newsroom in Maryland.
SEE ALSO: Jim Acosta drenched in heckles at Trump’s Tampa rally: ‘CNN sucks!’
Many pointed to the shooting of four journalists and an ad salesperson as evidence that violence against journalists was being whipped up by the president’s comments. However, the shooting suspect had a history with the paper and had threatened the staff before.
The reporter responded to the chants of “CNN sucks!” on live TV during the rally.
“You can hear there is a chorus of boos and other chants from this Trump crowd here — saying things like ’CNN sucks,’ ’go home,’ and ’fake news,’” Mr. Acosta said to CNN host Wolf Blitzer. “Wolf, obviously all of those things are false. We’re staying right here. We’re going to do our job and report on this rally to all of our viewers tonight.”
Mr. Acosta and his network have been one of Mr. Trump’s main targets of fake news accusations.
Two CNN reporters were faced with pushback from White House officials recently while working in the pool spray. Kaitlin Collins was barred from a press event in the Rose Garden July 25. Mr. Acosta was shouted down by an aide on Monday as press was being escorted out, according to one tweet.
White House aide shout down Jim @Acosta for asking collusion questions: “Move, Jim! Let’s go! Keep going Jim. Let’s go. We’re leaving. Come on Jim. Go. We’re done.” pic.twitter.com/UhGoN7CHN4
— Evan Rosenfeld (@Evan_Rosenfeld) July 30, 2018
• Douglas Ernst contributed to this article.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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