CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta on Tuesday accused White House counselor Kellyanne Conway of recording him tweeting while the United States Marine Band played "God Bless America" in order to paint him as "being unpatriotic."
Acosta said the exchange occurred during a "Celebration of America" event, which took place on the White House lawn with the United States Marine Band and fans of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday.
"At the 'Celebration of America' event, Kellyanne Conway tried to take a video of me tweeting while folks were singing God Bless America. I guess she wanted to accuse me of being unpatriotic. But she also stopped singing too... to try to record me. So strange," Acosta said.
At the "Celebration of America" event, Kellyanne Conway tried to take a video of me tweeting while folks were singing God Bless America. I guess she wanted to accuse me of being unpatriotic. But she also stopped singing too... to try to record me. So strange.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 5, 2018
A day earlier, President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a White House celebration honoring the Eagles after nearly all the coaches and players said they would boycott the event over Trump's vocal opposition to players kneeling during the national anthem. In place of the celebration, Trump hosted the "Celebration of America" event.
This is the second time since Monday that Acosta has tweeted about someone recording him. On Monday, he responded to Wired Sources journalist Michael J. Morrison, who recorded him being visibly frustrated during an exchange with a Secret Service agent because he wasn't wearing his press badge.
"This guy was recording me talking to Secret Service officer on WH grounds. Oddly, he claims I had a meltdown yet managed to have missed that part. Because it didn't happen. No idea who this person is. 2nd time a Trump supporter has recorded me at WH. In what world is this normal?" Acosta said.
This guy was recording me talking to Secret Service officer on WH grounds. Oddly, he claims I had a meltdown yet managed to have missed that part. Because it didn't happen. No idea who this person is. 2nd time a Trump supporter has recorded me at WH. In what world is this normal? https://t.co/jPLyVo7HVx
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 4, 2018