On Wednesday, CNN reporter Jim Acosta, as is his wont, took to Twitter to rip President Trump for his rhetoric , complaining that when Trump addressed the mail bombs that had been sent to former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he didn’t mention the evacuation that took place at CNN when there was a bomb scare.
Acosta added that Trump had eschewed responsibility for his own rhetoric, writing, “Trump talked about the bombs sent to former public officials at his rally in Wisconsin. But once again he didn’t mention CNN. On top of all that he criticized the ‘media’ for coverage he doesn’t like. And, of course, he took no responsibility for his own rhetoric.”
Donald Trump Jr., obviously incensed that Acosta would hold President Trump responsible for his rhetoric in the face of the mail bombs sent to well-known Democrats but ignore CNN’s history of their rhetoric targeting his family, fired back on Twitter, writing, “Jim, did you or your colleagues take any responsibility for your rhetoric in constantly calling my family Racists and Nazis for 2 years when my wife actually opened an exploding envelope of white powder intended for me? What about when it happened to my brother?”
Trump Jr. was referring to February 2018, when he and his family were allegedly targeted by someone who sent to their home an envelope containing white powder. Trump Jr.’s wife, Vanessa Trump, opened the envelope at the couple’s Manhattan apartment, then was taken to the hospital as a precaution, according to New York City police; two other people exposed to the powder were taken to New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. A hazmat crew arrived and began decontamination procedures shortly after the incident; the powder was later found to be non-hazardous.
Trump Jr. tweeted at the time:
There were those who were not displeased:
As far as Trump Jr.’s comment that CNN had called his family racist, here’s one example from last August, from CNN’s Don Lemon:
This president constantly denigrates people of color – and women too. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, his new favorite target. But then again, this is the same man who for years tried to deny the legitimacy of America’s first black president by questioning over and over and over whether Barack Obama was born in this country. And black athletes who kneel during the national anthem as a form of protest against racism and police brutality? Well, they get this disrespect …
What about those who don’t have a voice? What is his presidency doing to them? The kids separated from their parents at the border or the kids who don’t have the chance to attend LeBron’s school or any half-way decent school? The parents who can’t honestly tell their children to be proud of the President of the United States? The people of color who are attacked by their fellow citizens who feel emboldened to be publicly racist? Because the president is.