CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta defended snarky tweets directed at President Donald Trump on the "Hugh Hewitt Show" Tuesday.
Specifically, Hewitt brought up a time when Acosta quoted a tweet in which Trump said he would call the president of Egypt to discuss a terrorist attack, and the CNN correspondent added his own joke. He said, "Now watch this drive," in reference to the president's golfing.
Now watch this drive https://t.co/VsRygsajlJ
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 24, 2017
"Jim, do you regret that?" Hewitt asked.
"Oh, goodness, no. I mean, come on," Accosta replied. "I mean, if you put my tweets up against the president’s, you know, they might be confused with tweets issued by your local church."
The political correspondent went on to say he was highlighting hypocrisy from the president, who frequently criticized Obama for golfing during his presidency.
Hewitt wasn't satisfied with that response.
"My problem is when you put now watch this drive, it is snarky. Do you agree with me it was snarky?" Hewitt asked.
"Sure, it was snarky," Acosta said.
Acosta then justified it by saying the rules have changed with Trump.
"I think you know, this is a different kind of president, Hugh. We’re going to have a different kind of playbook when it comes to covering the president. That means at times, you know, I bring a little attitude to what I do on a daily basis," he said.
He followed up by saying he's trying to throw the White House off its talking points.
"That way, we occasionally get at the truth," Acosta said.
Acosta has at times had an adversarial relationship with the White House. In August, Trump called him "fake news," and Acosta has also said he intends to "resist" Trump for his comments about journalists.