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Jim Acosta, axed CNN anchor, reignites Trump feud over administration's treatment of the press


Jim Acosta, axed CNN anchor, reignites Trump feud over administration's treatment of the press

Jim Acosta's days at CNN are done, but his feud with President Donald Trump seems far from over.

The ex-"CNN Newsroom" anchor took to his new "The Jim Acosta Show" Substack on Sunday to call out the Trump administration's decision to ban The Associated Press from briefings for not following their language guidelines -- and he encouraged a press boycott of Trump coverage.

"News outlets then must rally to the cause ... writing op-Ed's backing the AP and, if necessary, refusing to cover presidential movements in solidarity, until Trump backs down," Acosta wrote in his newsletter.

Last week, Trump's administration banned AP reporters indefinitely from covering presidential events after the news organization chose not to use Trump's Gulf of America over its own company's Stylebook-preferred Gulf of Mexico.

"It is crucial for news outlets to unite in opposition to any attempts by the administration to harm individual journalists and their organizations," Acosta wrote.

Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in an executive order signed on his first day in office. On Jan. 27, Google responded to public inquiries regarding the executive order.

"We've received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources," the company wrote on X.

Norah O'Donnell signs off, Hoda Kotb is out: 'God-like days' are over for big name anchors

Since leaving CNN, Acosta has taken an even more aggressive tone in responding to the Trump administration's actions this second time around.

"News organizations in Washington should be banding together to send the message that members of the press will determine how they cover the news," Acosta continued. "Not the White House. Not the man behind the Resolute Desk, no matter how he redraws the world's maps. The presidential Sharpie is not mightier than the pen."

After suggesting the AP should take the White House to court for "harassment," he offered some opinionated ideas about how he thought Trump could respond.

"Trump may respond by inviting only sycophants and right-wing hacks to chronicle his daily decrees. Fine. Let the American people soak that in - the image of an aspiring autocrat and his servile propagandists," Acosta wrote.

For Acosta and Trump, the feud is personal.

During Trump's first term in office, Acosta engaged in frequent back-and-forth encounters with the former president and press staff from his first administration. In November 2018, the first Trump White House revoked Acosta's press badge following a tense exchange with President Donald Trump where the president called him a "rude, terrible person."

Why is Jim Acosta leaving CNN? Anchor, Trump critic warns not to 'bow down' to tyranny

CNN later sued the Trump administration, and a federal judge ordered the White House to reinstate Acosta's press credentials. During his first term in office, Trump frequently referred to CNN - and Acosta more directly - as "fake news," a popular phrase also used by his supporters.

Amid reports Acosta planned to leave CNN last month, Trump responded on the conservative social media platform Truth Social by slamming his frequent foe.

"Wow, really good news! Jim Acosta, one of the worst and most dishonest reporters in journalistic history, a major sleazebag, has been relegated by CNN Fake News to the Midnight hour, 'Death Valley,' because of extraordinarily LOW RATINGS (and no talent!)," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump continued: "Word is that he wants to QUIT, and that would be even better. Jim is a major loser who will fail no matter where he ends up. Good luck Jim!"

On Jan. 18, Acosta signed off from the network, telling viewers that "after giving all of this some careful consideration and weighing an alternative time slot CNN offered me, I have decided to move on."

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