CNN’s Jim Acosta called President Trump’s decision to postpone House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) trip abroad “childish,” while declaring that “our nation’s capital has officially become a playground.”
“Our nation’s capital has officially become a playground, Brooke,” declared Acosta from the White House North Lawn during a Thursday report on “CNN Newsroom,” which is hosted by Brooke Baldwin.
“The president has responded, in sort of a childish way is the only way to describe it, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to her letter essentially saying that the State of the Union will be postponed.”
{mosads}The report from CNN’s chief White House correspondent comes after President Trump on Thursday postponed a congressional delegation trip Pelosi had intended to take after the House Speaker sought to delay his State of the Union address.
“It goes on to talk about how the president is going to continue to defend the nation’s borders and he’s calling upon the Speaker to join his ‘Strong Border Security movement,’ as he’s calling it, to end the shutdown,” Acosta added, describing the content of the letter Trump issued to Pelosi.
“What this letter does not include, Brooke, is any kind of response from the president to what he’s actually going to do about the State of the Union coming up on Jan. 29.”
Acosta has tussled frequently with the Trump administration, and in November had his White House press credentials temporarily taken away after he engaged in a heated back-and-forth with President Trump.
Acosta’s report on Thursday comes as the partial government shutdown is close to reaching a month in duration, with no resolution to the standoff in sight.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted out the president’s letter to Pelosi on Thursday just hours before she was supposed to depart for a trip overseas that included stops in Brussels and Afghanistan.
“We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the shutdown is over,” Trump wrote. “I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the shutdown.”
The president added that if the Speaker wanted to go ahead with the trip by flying commercial, “that would certainly be your prerogative.”
Pelosi’s office fired back at Trump’s characterization of the trip, which was previously unannounced, saying it had included important meetings with NATO commanders in Brussels and a visit with troops stationed in Afghanistan.
“The purpose of the trip was to express appreciation and thanks to our men and women in uniform for their service and dedication, and to obtain critical national security and intelligence briefings from those on the front lines,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said in a statement.