CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta claimed during a Tuesday morning interview that Fox News hosts were getting show scripts written by the Trump administration.
Acosta appeared to surprise radio host Hugh Hewitt with his contention that Fox News hosts were getting their scripts from the White House, which came during Hewitt's attempt to tamp down criticism of networks on both sides of the political spectrum in the United States.
"I don't work for Fox, I don't work for CNN, I work for NBC, but I have worked with CNN and I regret the use of fake news and propaganda, because I think there's a spectrum of journalism in the United States," Hewitt said. "Many of us are opinion journalists, some of us are straight news journalists, other people move back and forth, but none of us are in the business of state TV, which is the old Pravda, none of us get script from the government, none of us do that."
Acosta interrupted Hewitt to accuse Fox News of getting scripts from the White House.
"You don't think they get scripts?" Acosta said. "You don't think they get a script that night when they come on?"
"Absolutely not," Hewitt responded. "Do you think they actually get a script from the White House, Jim?"
"I mean, it sounds, you know, it sounds like that's what's going on over there," Acosta said. "It sounds like that's the case, we hear the same talking points from their surrogates that we hear on their show night after night. It certainly sounds that way."
Hewitt responded by pointing out he often discusses Trump accomplishments, such as getting Constitutional originalists put on the courts, but it's not because he is receiving talking points from the White House.
"It's something the White House says, but it's something I've held for thirty years," Hewitt said. "Does that make it a less legitimate point of view that the president happens to agree with something I've argued for for thirty years?"
Acosta also complained during the interview that Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson won't have him on their shows.
"They're willing to go off on me on their shows, but they're not willing to have me on in person to defend myself," Acosta said. "If you're so darn tough, why don't you give me an invitation to come on your show? What I've found over the last few days is that they're not willing to do that. They're willing to shoot spitballs from the sideline like the class clown, but they're not willing to meet me out in the school yard."
Both Hannity and Carlson have addressed Acosta's attempts to appear on their shows, and neither appear likely to have him on.
Hannity said he wouldn't subject his audience to "conspiracy theory fake news" and suggested Acosta "hawk that garbage on the lowest rated cable channel" he works for. Carlson used a portion of his Friday show to mockingly play clips of Acosta and said it was "shocking that he is so proud of himself."
https://t.co/CkvnHh3G2j
It’s true Fake News Acosta’s reps have BEEN BEGGING to be on the #1 show on Cable News & 618 Of the top Talk Radio stations. Sorry, I wont subject my audience to conspiracy theory fake news. Go hawk that garbage on the lowest rated cable channel u work for— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) June 14, 2019
Acosta is in the middle of promoting his new book, The Enemy of the People, on his experience covering the Trump administration.