Donald Trump spent much of what was intended to be a press conference on his finances attacking news organizations for reporting on intelligence reports suggesting he might be compromised by Russia.
The press conference had barely begun when incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer decried BuzzFeed—which published a 35-page document cited in the Russia report—as a left-wing press organization dealing in fake news. Trump later called it a “failing piece of garbage,” and said it would “suffer the consequences” for publishing the report.
But the real argument broke out a few minutes later, when CNN’s Jim Acosta attempted to ask the president-elect a question.
“Since you’re attacking our news organization, can you give us a chance to ask a question,” he said.
Here is what the president-elect said: “No. Not you. Not you. Your organization is terrible. Quiet. Don’t be rude. Don’t be rude. I’m not going to give you a question. You are fake news.”
He ended the press conference a few minutes later.