The 4 in Washington

These days, the United States, and maybe the whole world, is preoccupied with four names, not for their beauty, but rather for a larger issue that is now becoming clear.

The first name is Donald Trump, of course, the second name is Jim Acosta, CNN correspondent, and the third is U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, while Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the fourth.

The story is that Trump held a press conference in Washington last week regarding the results of the midterm elections and the election of the new Congress, which left Trump half-victorious and half-defeated. The CNN correspondent was present, asked questions and refused to relinquish the microphone. A female White House employee told him that his time was up and that his colleagues also wanted to ask questions. But he didn’t care; he had important questions for the president and wanted answers. The president was very annoyed at Acosta and said he was a rude reporter. A skirmish broke out between the correspondent on one hand and the president and White House employee on the other. It became the talk of the media for days.

The Office of the President revoked Acosta’s press pass, which is required for him to enter the White House and do his job covering the president.

When Trump traveled to France a few days later, CNN sent the same reporter to report on the visit in the French capital. It was remarkable that the respective authorities in Paris gave Acosta a seat very close to the U.S. president at the press conference there!

As soon as he returned to Washington from France, Judge Kelly ordered the reinstatement of Acosta’s press pass. Kelly, who was appointed by Trump himself, indicated that the case favored Acosta and the television station that he represents and that the White House was wrong because it did not revoke Acosta’s press pass for a legitimate reason.

Sarah Sanders came out and said that, pursuant to the court ruling, the White House would reinstate Acosta’s pass and that the White House was bound by the judge’s ruling.

The lesson that should not be missed in this case is that if Acosta overstepped, and he did, the way to deal with the media overstepping is to give them more freedom. Only freedom of the press itself can correct these abuses.CNN correspondent was present, asked questions and refused to relinquish the microphone. A female White House employee told him that his time was up and that his colleagues also wanted to ask questions. But he didn’t care, he had important questions for the president and wanted answers. The president was very annoyed at Acosta and said he was a rude reporter. A skirmish broke out between the the correspondent on one hand and the president and White House employee on the other. It became the talk of the media for days.

The Office of the President revoked Acosta’s press pass, which is required for him to enter the White House and do his job covering the president.

When Trump traveled to France a few days later, CNN sent the same reporter to report on the visit in the French capital. It was remarkable that the respective authorities in Paris gave Acosta a seat very close to the U.S. president at the press conference there!

As soon as he returned to Washington from France, Judge Kelly ordered the reinstatement of Acosta’s press pass. Kelly, who was appointed by Trump himself, indicated that the case favored Acosta and the television station that he represents, and that the White House was wrong because it did not revoke Acosta’s press pass for a legitimate reason.

Sarah Sanders came out and said that, pursuant to the court ruling, the White House would reinstate Acosta’s pass, and that the White House was bound by the judge’s ruling.

The lesson that should not be missed in this case is that if Acosta overstepped, and he did, the way to deal with the media overstepping is to give them more freedom. Only freedom of the press itself can correct these abuses.