Donald Trump Supporters Heckle CNN Reporter Jim Acosta At Columbia Rally

CNN’s White House Correspondent Jim Acosta was accosted by Trump supporters who told him to “get the f— out” at a Republican rally he was covering on Monday.

The incident occurred at Airport High School in West Columbia, South Carolina, where Republicans were gathered for a campaign rally held by President Donald Trump in support of Gov. Henry McMaster, who is running in the state primary.

Just before Trump was set to appear, elderly Trump supporter Maria Rojas began heckling Acosta, pointing at the reporter while screaming “Get him out.” The woman “then turned to the crowd and whipped them up into a frenzy” said Acosta. The crowd continued to taunt the reporter with cries of “Go home Jim, CNN sucks and fake news.” The incident was captured by Associated Press Reporter Meg Kinnard who happened to be sitting next to Acosta at the time.

At one point, Rojas accused Acosta of not respecting the United States, to which Acosta replies that he does.

During the rally, Trump then rode on the wave of anger, attacking various news outlets that he deemed fake news. “The enemy, the enemy of the people I call ’em,” the president said regarding the media.

Despite the verbal attacks, Accosta said he would not be discouraged. “We are here to do our jobs and report the news and report on this rally, and we’re not going anywhere,” said Acosta.

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Following the jeers, Acosta was later approached by some of the same hecklers asking for autographs and selfies. “It’s sort of like being beamed into the twilight zone” said Acosta in an interview with CNN. ”Covering a political rally where your fellow Americans — you stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, you do the national anthem and then they all turn on you and start screaming at you like this. It’s just unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and it’s quite startling.”

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The CNN reporter had previously been attacked by the White House when he was labeled as “fake news” by Trump at a November White House press briefing. Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Brad Pascale had also previously targeted the reporter, tweeting that Acosta should “immediately have his press credentials suspended” for shouting questions during a signing ceremony between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. To which Acosta shot back, “Dear Brad.. dictatorships take away press credentials. Not democracies.”

Article by Cathryn Casatuta