Kimmel: Sanders should be fired for tweeting ‘doctored’ footage of Acosta incident

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders should be fired for tweeting out “doctored video footage to discredit” CNN’s Jim Acosta.

“She intentionally disseminated doctored video footage to discredit a reputable journalist. She’s the White House press secretary,” Kimmel said. “She should be fired for that.”

Trump spokespuppet Kellyanne Conway @KellyannePolls does her best to spin the Jim @Acosta suspension… @CNN pic.twitter.com/TMFDvHxk7b

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) November 9, 2018

Sanders did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Hill.

{mosads}Kimmel was responding to the White House revoking Acosta’s press pass, accusing him of “placing his hands on” a young female intern who tried to grab the microphone from him during a press conference on Wednesday.

“President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his administration,” Sanders said in a statement. “We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable.”

Kimmel responded to the tweet by noting, “That’s where the Hucka-B.S. machine comes in.” 

Sanders has been accused of sharing an edited video which appears to speed up the exchange to make the moment appear more aggressive.

We stand by our decision to revoke this individual’s hard pass. We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video. pic.twitter.com/T8X1Ng912y

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018

“Jim Acosta clearly never touched that White House intern,” Kimmel said. “That’s just a lie. And I think this might be the first time I’ve seen Sarah Sanders take a woman’s side on any subject ever.”

The president denied assertions that the video was doctored while speaking with reports on Friday.

“Nobody manipulated, give me a break. That is dishonest reporting. All that was was a close-up,” Trump said.

Despite having his press credentials pulled, Acosta is in Paris on Friday to cover Trump’s visit to France.