Acosta turns down request to go on Spicer’s talk show: He wants to resurrect his career, bash CNN

CNN reporter Jim Acosta said Sunday that he turned down a request to appear on former White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s new talk show because he’s not interested in helping Spicer resurrect his career. 

“We politely turned that down,” Acosta said on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” when asked if he’d appear on a new TV show Spicer is developing.

“My sense of it is that Sean has crossed the line from being somebody who was a former press secretary to somebody who wants to resurrect his career and go on Fox News and bash CNN. And if he’s going to do that, I don’t think we should give him time to do that,” Acosta said.

Acosta’s comments come days after The New York Times reported Spicer’s plans to become a talk-show host. No network has yet picked up his show, tentatively called “Sean Spicer’s Common Ground.” The first episode is expected to be filmed this month. 

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“In this current environment, I think it’s important to have a platform where we can have civil, respectful, and informative discussions on the issues of the day,” Spicer told the Times last week.

Acosta has maintained a tense relationship with President Trump and his administration, often becoming the target of jabs from the president and his supporters.

Last week a crowd at a Trump rally in South Carolina chanted “Go home, Jim!” as they waited for the president to speak. 

Most recently, Acosta drew criticism from conservative media, including Fox News, on Friday for shouting questions at Trump during an event marking six months of the Republican tax law.

Trump had opened the event with remarks honoring the five employees who were killed in a shooting at a Maryland newspaper on Thursday.

“This attack shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief,” Trump said. “Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job.”

After Trump concluded the event, Acosta shouted, “Mr. President, will you stop calling the press the enemy of the people?”

Trump was met with criticism from other reporters following his remarks for his frequent targeting of the news media and comments he has made calling reporters the “enemy of the people.”