CNN’s Jim Acosta repeatedly grilled Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) over his refusal to condemn President Donald Trump’s pardon of U.S. Capitol rioters who attacked cops. (Watch the video below.)
Acosta kept the pressure on as the segment got personal and devolved into name-calling.
“This is not Fox News,” the anchor told his dodging guest in an exchange that went viral on X, formerly called Twitter, Wednesday.
Trump granted clemency to about 1,500 people in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, reportedly saying, “Fuck it, release ’em all,” before the order was made. His forgiveness toward violent offenders went further than his own party expected and has put allies on defense to rationalize Trump’s apparently rash move.
Another Burchett attempt to divert outrage at the pardons ― this time appearing to refer to the deaths of police officers falsely attributed to the George Floyd protests (as Trump has similarly done in defending the pardons with false equivalence) ― continued the tension.
“Look what happened to the last four years with police, what happened with all the riots that took place all across the country?” Burchett griped. “Police officers were murdered. Courthouses were burned, over 22 police cars were burned. Yet no one went to jail for that.”
“Congressman, you’re engaging in a game of whataboutism,” Acosta said, spurring more crosstalk.
Acosta eventually reminded Burchett he was in the wrong place to evade answers.
“This is not Fox, congressman. You can’t just spin a tale and pull the wool over people’s eyes,” Acosta said. “This is CNN, this is the news. We are asking you to come on and tell the truth.”
“And that’s why more people are watching the Cartoon Network ‘SpongeBob’ reruns right now, Jim,” Burchett snapped back, adding, “Your view is very demented.”
The congressman appeared to anticipate the tension from the outset.
“Good to be here for my weekly beating from you all at CNN,” he said with a smile.
Check out the drama right here:
Acosta seems to be getting adversarial treatment from his own network as well. A recent report circulated that he was offered a move from daytime to a midnight to 2 a.m. slot amid a scheduling shake-up at CNN.
On Thursday, the network announced it was laying off hundreds of workers on the TV side to make room for digital expansion.