Not Everyone At CNN Approves Of Jim Acosta Antics

Jim Acosta is suddenly one of CNN's most controversial figures even among some of his CNN colleagues, who say his public battles with the Trump administration are going too far.

One of Acosta's colleagues, an on-air conservative political commentator for CNN, said he sees an ulterior motive in Acosta's actions. He said Acosta's widely noticed clashes with the White House give the impression that he wants a new role at the network.

"He's angling to host an opinion show," he said. "These [White House] briefings are his auditions."

Another CNN employee in Washington, D.C. made it clear that Acosta's outbursts aren't as popular behind the scenes as CNN sometimes makes them out to be on the air.

"Ugh, just ugh," a producer told the Washington Examiner when asked about Acosta.

Acosta is CNN's most visible White House correspondent, and his notoriety grew Wednesday when he pressed Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, on the administration's new Republican-backed bill that aims to sharply reduce immigration.

The two engaged in an extended back-and-forth that included Acosta accusing the White House of "trying to engineer the racial and ethnic flow of people into this country" and Miller saying that was "one of the most outrageous, insulting, ignorant, and foolish things you've ever said."

Before the age of Trump, Acosta was fairly ho-hum in terms of his reputation as a cable news reporter. He was mostly viewed as much of CNN was: undistinguished, perhaps even forgettable.

But since Trump won the election, both CNN and now Acosta have earned extra attention and scrutiny, in large part because the president finds a certain joy in taunting the network. And because Acosta represents CNN when it comes to covering White House, he is often singled out at briefings and press conferences.

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