Director and producer Judd Apatow may be behind some of America's favorite comedies, but when it comes to President Donald Trump's treatment of the press, he's dead serious.
With the news that CNN's White House correspondent Jim Acosta's clearance to the White House had been restored after the reporter challenged Trump's answers to some of his questions, the president attempted to assure Americans that he values the sanctity of a free press with the stipulation that the press must be respectful of him, saying:
"We want total freedom in the press…but you have to act with respect. You’re in the White House."
Apatow thought that was rich coming from Donald Trump, and he made sure to let us know with a tweet ruthless enough to rival the president himself.
Apatow's statement pulled no punches and people were living for it.
His words led to others pointing out the numerous times the Trump White House didn't concern itself with decorum.
The revocation of Jim Acosta's White House pass has put Donald Trump's animus toward the press into even starker relief.
At a press conference following the Democrats' many victories in the 2018 midterms, Donald Trump became enraged at Acosta for continuing to ask questions once the president dismissed him.
Trump became visibly angry, saying to Acosta:
“CNN should be ashamed of itself, having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN.”
A young female White House staffer attempted to take Acosta's mic away, however he dodged her arm when she reached for it. The next day, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders shared a doctored video which was sped up to make Acosta's dodge appear far more aggressive than it was.
CNN filed a lawsuit against the White House for the revocation, charging that it violated the right to a free press. The judge sided with the network and Huckabee Sanders announced that the pass would be restored for the time being. However, it appears that Trump isn't about to take his sights off Acosta, warning:
"If he misbehaves, we'll throw him out or we'll stop the news conference."
Despite many attempts by the president and White House officials to assail Acosta's character, it appears most Americans agree with Apatow.
The White House is reportedly writing new rules on decorum for reporters that the president says will make press conferences more orderly and civil. Yet judging from the way he's treated the press since the start of his campaign in 2015, that respect won't be returned by him.
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