Jim Acosta refused to let Georgia Republican Party Chairman Joshua McKoon spew false information to CNN viewers after he asked McKoon if he’d trust the 2024 election results “this time” no matter what the results are.
The heated discussion on the morning of Thursday, Oct 24, 12 days before Election Day, saw Acosta simply call McKoon’s statement about how he felt the last election was mishandled in some way “horse crap.”
After Acosta checked the Georgia party chairman on the rhetoric he used to discuss the 2020 presidential election, McKoon went as far as to say that CNN lied to him about what they’d be talking about on the day’s “CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta” show.
“You’re making suggestions that there was some kind of tomfoolery and shenanigans going on last time around,” the CNN host told McKoon after the Republican insisted that he feels that this year’s election is “much more secure.”
“Your party’s own secretary of state said that that was not the case and that it was a free and fair election and that it was secure. I’m just saying. Josh, what you’re saying is horse crap. It’s just horse crap.”
The Georgia political operative pressed that Acosta didn’t live in the state he represents to know what it was like in 2020.
That’s when McKoon went on to make pretty serious and shocking claims against Acosta and CNN regarding the basis of the discussion.
“You have an agenda, you brought me on here under false pretenses,” he slammed. “You don’t want to talk about what the producers told me they wanted to talk about.”
After setting the record straight in telling McKoon, “that isn’t the case,” he continued to speak over Acosta when he’d try to jump in with a response.
“It’s important for your viewers to understand that [you’re] constantly trying to push a dishonest narrative,” McKoon said. “And using people as a fuel for that dishonest narrative.”
The CNN host was trying to tell McKoon that his version of events had been refuted by Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state.
Acosta told him that he was “just lying” after McKoon was unable to pinpoint what the dishonest narrative he accused CNN of trying to push was when asked directly.
The chairman did explain that, on the CNN news show, it was discussed that the last election did take place amid a global pandemic, to which Acosta agreed.
McKoon elaborated on how Georgia faced unforeseen difficulties during the 2020 election.
He said there was an emergency rule, including little notice to officials in the Peach State for them to legislate ballot drop boxes into the law.
To respond to McKoon’s claim about Acosta and CNN misleading him about the topic of conversation, Acosta said, “I appreciate you coming on. You were able to talk about early voting. We were talking about all these issues. And I think as the state party chair, you know, you should you should be prepared to answer these kinds of questions.”
McKoon said he’d let the viewers decide if they were able to talk about “what y’all told me to talk about.”
.@Acosta pushes back hard when Georgia's GOP Chair tries to undermine confidence in the election, "I'm just saying, Josh, what you're saying is horse crap." pic.twitter.com/EAZNaTpwy3
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) October 24, 2024
They both began to talk over each other in an argumentative manner.
Acosta went on to assure that the 2020 vote was secure, saying that even the Republican officials have said so, despite McKoon’s attempts to “undermine it.”
“I’m not going to let that fly on this program,” the CNN host insisted. “I’m very sorry that you continue to do it but Josh, thank you very much for your time.”
McKoon threatened to post what the producer sent him for the public to see.
“Then we can talk about who’s lying,” he said.
The CNN host told him to simply be “prepared for any and all questions,” next time.
“And you’re getting that straight from me,” he shot back.
When a clip of the interview was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, by political analyst Sarah Reese Jones, lots of users encouraged Acosta to keep the “horse crap” at bay on the show.
“These people trying to sow distrust in our elections should be considered domestic terrorists at this point,” someone explained. “They are directly causing violence and civil unrest.”
“It’s astounding how completely detached from reality the GOP is,” another person added. “Facts are meaningless to them. Expertise is meaningless. Everything is a conspiracy. They are always the victims. It’s an insane and miserable way to live life.”
Users deemed Acosta the “only upstanding person at CNN,” and noted how they “don’t understand why they keep giving them [GOP operatives] a platform.”
