Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Wednesday called out supporters of President Trump for verbally lashing out at CNN reporter Jim Acosta at a rally in Tampa, Fla.
“This isn’t our best. It’s not who we are,” Scaramucci tweeted, quoting a tweet from Acosta that showed a video of rally attendees shouting at the White House correspondent.
{mosads}“I don’t always agree and am often upset with journalists but we are flashing warning lights now that we shouldn’t be flashing. The free press needs to be protected as well as their opinions. That’s why that Amendment was First.”
Scaramucci’s comments came a day after a number of attendees at a Trump rally showed hostility toward members of the press.
Multiple reporters posted videos of an interaction in which Acosta was preparing to do a live shot from the event with attendees shouting “CNN sucks” and “you’re a liar” at the reporter.
Acosta tweeted later in the evening that he’s “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,” he added. “The press is not the enemy.”
Trump’s feud with the media has become a recurring theme of his presidency, with Trump often referring to coverage he deems unfavorable as “fake news.”
Scaramucci, who spent just 10 days in his position at the White House, said in June that Trump’s antagonistic approach to the press “galvanizes” the media against him.