There\u2019s no excuse that will ever be enough to smooth over the treatment of the press at the typical Trump rally. Trump\u2019s rallies are the equivalent of uncovering a sewer and having the contents back up into your front yard.<\/p>\n
They are grotesque in their incivility towards those who are not on board the Trump train. They seethe with every nasty, corrupt emotion, and it\u2019s all part of the rise of Trumpism.<\/p>\n
Trump, himself, is a liar and a braggart. He is uncivil, unschooled, and rejects wisdom and character. In his view, only wealth and power are worthy of respect. When those attitudes collide, you get the petty, angry man currently in the Oval Office. His wealth is nothing, compared to those who earned their wealth through vision and hard work, rather than a trust fund.<\/p>\n
We used to be an America that valued the better angels, but in our downward spiral, we get the toothless, rancorous maw that is a Trumpian worship session, like what went on in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Trump took his travelling rage show to Tampa, in support of Florida Governor Rick Scott, as he makes a run for the Senate. He was also there to support two Trump loyalists, Representative Ron DeSantis, who is running for governor, and Representative Matt Gaetz, who is running for reelection.<\/p>\n
Of course, as it is with all the sideshow wonder of a Trump rally, the press was there, including Jim Acosta, of CNN.<\/p>\n
To be clear, Acosta can be preening and dramatic in his coverage. I get being rubbed the wrong way by the guy.<\/p>\n
What I don\u2019t get is the need to attack him, simply because of his presence. If he\u2019s just there, you don\u2019t go after him. You don\u2019t make a scene. Whether you like his work or not, there\u2019s no excuse for an attack. Leave the man alone.<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t happen.<\/a><\/p>\n Hecklers booed Acosta at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall during his report while chanting \u201cCNN sucks,\u201d a common refrain at Trump rallies.<\/p>\n Trump regularly refers to CNN as \u201cfake news.\u201d The president, who hasn\u2019t appeared on the network in nearly two years going back to Aug. 16, 2016 during his time as a candidate, also retweeted out a tweet by his son, Eric, who included video of Acosta being heckled with \u201cCNN sucks\u201d chants while adding the hashtags \u201c#Truth\u201d and \u201c@Acosta,\u201d the reporter\u2019s Twitter handle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Acosta posted video of how that scene looked. How many \u201cevangelicals\u201d can you pick out of that crowd?<\/p>\n Just a sample of the sad scene we faced at the Trump rally in Tampa. I\u2019m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy. pic.twitter.com\/IhSRw5Ui3R<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n