CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta last week said President Trump would become just another “crackpot on the internet” once President-elect Joe Biden takes the oath of office Jan. 20.
Acosta, who has had a combative relationship with the president throughout his term, made the comment while reporting about Twitter messages in which Trump disputed election results.
“We have to pay attention to those tweets now … because he’s the president,” Acosta told “AC360” host Anderson Cooper, “but after January 20th he just goes back to being another crackpot on the internet.”
The Fox News Decision Desk projected Nov. 7, four days after the election, that Biden would win the White House and deny Trump a second term, but Trump’s team has brought legal challenges in several battleground states, making the case, often with little evidence, that some portion of ballots were invalid.
Several of the lawsuits have since been dismissed while others continue, though most legal observers say none are likely at this point to overturn the election results.
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Many Republicans have defended the president, saying Trump has the right to question the results in court -- and thousands of pro-Trump marchers rallied in Washington, D.C., on Saturday in a show of support for the president.
At one point, the president made an appearance, waving to the crowd from inside a vehicle traveling near the White House.
In recent years, Acosta has had a tendency to repeatedly press the president and other aides with pointed questions, developing a reputation for being a thorn in the side of the administration.
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Acosta has also become a favorite target of attendees at trump rallies, who frequently shout remarks at Acosta or chant derisive slogans about CNN.
In 2018, the White House revoked Acosta’s press access when he refused to let go of a White House microphone while asking a question about immigration. A judge later ordered the administration to restore his credentials.
Then-White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called Acosta’s behavior during the news briefing "absolutely unacceptable."
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Trump supporters have frequently accused Acosta of straying from unbiased journalism in his brazen questioning tactics.
In 2019, Acosta wrote a book called, “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America,” a reference to Trump frequently mocking journalists and sometimes calling them the “enemy of the people.”
In his book, Acosta wrote, "Neutrality for the sake of neutrality doesn't serve us in the age of Trump."
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