Congressman Gerry Connolly says CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta was set up by Donald Trump ... set up to humiliate him during Wednesday's news conference.
We got Connolly in D.C. Thursday and he seemed certain, there was a script behind the move by an intern to grab the mic Acosta was holding after the fiery exchange with the Prez.
Trump went full bore on Acosta, telling him he was a terrible person and unfit to cover The White House. By the way, Acosta's been covering 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. for the last 5 years.
While ripping into Acosta, Trump accused him of being extremely rude to Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. There's no denying Sarah and Jim have gone to battle several times during press briefings -- with the fireworks frequently going off live on the web and TV.
Still, Trump and co. yanking Acosta's press credentials Wednesday night is a move so aggressive, and unprecedented given the circumstances, it's more like a declaration of war.