CNN's Jim Acosta complains Trump snubbed him at news conference after US-North Korea summit ended
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN’s Jim Acosta on Thursday bemoaned the fact that President Trump didn’t call on him during a news conference after the abrupt end of the Hanoi summit between the U.S. and North Korea.
During a segment following the news conference, Acosta asserted that Trump may have avoided White House press corps journalists in an effort to dodge questions about Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, who testified Wednesday on the Capitol Hill.
TRUMP CUTS SHORT NORTH KOREA SUMMIT AFTER DISPUTE OVER SANCTIONS: 'SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO WALK'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“First of all, we have to point out the obvious, which is the president steered clear largely during this news conference of the White House press corps and instead selected journalists at random from the other side of the room, where foreign journalists were seated,” Acosta said.
But Acosta didn't mention that Trump called on at least two journalists from the White House press corps, including CBS’s Major Garrett – who was the first reporter called on – and ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, who quizzed Trump on Cohen’s testimony.
“[Michael Cohen] lied a lot,” Trump said in response to the Cohen testimony, which occurred in Washington, more than 13,000 miles from Hanoi. “But it was very interesting because he didn't lie about one thing, he said, 'no collusion with the Russian hoax.'”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Other U.S.-based outlets that also questioned Trump included the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, and Bloomberg.
TRUMP PRAISES 'SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP' WITH NORTH KOREA’S KIM JONG UN AT START OF HANOI SUMMIT
Acosta added that Trump “was calling on reporters from Russian state media, Chinese state media, Sean Hannity from Fox,” adding that it “was by design because he didn't want to really answer questions about Michael Cohen.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The CNN star echoed the same claims on Twitter, saying “Trump largely steered clear of WH press corps., which helped him avoid the Cohen questions,” adding that “Russian state media got a question. China state media got a question. Hannity got a question.”
Yet even Acosta later in the segment acknowledged that Trump indeed answered a question on Cohen, though noting that he called the testimony yesterday a “fake hearing.”