Wednesday, January 9, 2019

My Heroine

     I’ve been hanging back from posting much recently, mostly because I’m both physically weary and hard pressed on several fronts. However, I must post this clip of Kellyanne Conway castrating Jim Acosta in front of his colleagues (and a fair number of sound cameras):

     A transcript:

Acosta: Kellyanne, can — can you promise that the President will tell the truth? Will he tell the truth?
Conway: Yes, Jim, and can you promise that you will?
Acosta: I will
Conway: The whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Am I allowed to mention God to you?
Acosta: I’m not the one who has the alternative facts problem like you do, Kellyanne.
Conway: No, well, you know — Jim, I know that’s a cheap —
Acosta: Will the President — will the President —
Conway: — make sure that goes viral.
Acosta: Okay.
Conway: By the way, this is why —
Acosta: Can you guarantee that —
Conway: — by the way, this is why I’m one of the only people —
Acosta: That the President’s speech will pass with fact-checkers?
Conway: — around here who gives you the time of day.
Acosta: Can you — can you guarantee that the President’s speech will?
Conway: And let me just — let me get back in your face cause you’re such a smartass most of the time and I know you want this to go viral. [Pointing at the other reporters] A lot of these people don’t like you. But just let me be respectful to the media writ large, as I always am. I explained that that was alternative information and additional facts and I explained it many times and don’t you put it back in my face for all the corrections that your network needs to issue. I was on your network 25 or 26 times in 2018 and I’m one of the last people here who even bother to go on and the disrespect that you showed to me personally, I’ll just let pass.
Acosta: Ma’am I’m just asking. Will the President be telling the truth tonight.
Conway: No, don’t call me ma’am to make it up.
Acosta: I just asked. Will the President tell the truth tonight?
Conway: That’s why — go ahead. Please, Mara.

     Acosta pretends that his attacks on President Trump are “journalism.” They are not. What other “reporter” has ever dared to assert that a sitting president had lied, much less was about to go on live television to lie? Did any “reporter” do so after any of Bill Clinton’s flagrant lies? Did Acosta, or anyone else in the press corps, do so when Obama lied volubly to the public? Did they do so even after the fact, when it was revealed that not only had Obama’s statements about Benghazi been false but that he’d known them to be false as he made them?

     Conway just ripped the covers off Acosta’s dishonesty, rudeness, and partisanry in front of the rest of the journalistic trade. Some commentators are of the opinion that she ended his career. We can hope.

3 comments:

Linda Fox said...

The rudeness is so blatant - the constant interruptions, talking over her comments, insistence on being permitted to insult the spokesman, etc.

I think calling him a smartass was an understatement; I also liked the way that she pointed out that the other reporters didn't like him. I'm not surprised - his insistence on speaking as long as he wants to is hindering the other reporters' ability to ask their questions.

Manu said...

The press hates anyone right of Trotsky. It's so obvious to anyone with eyes.

The question is, does Acosta think he's fooling us? If so, he's dumber than I thought.

Bear Claw Chris Lapp said...

He doesn't care what we think. None of them do. Keep that in mind when you decide to attack on social media, it just increases their noise.