Esteemed journalist Jim Acosta has been barred from the White House after an aggressive exchange with President Donald Trump.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the day after the US midterm elections in which Democrats won back the House of Representatives, Mr Acosta began to ask about the 'caravan' of asylum seekers making their way toward the US-Mexico border.
"Here we go," Mr Trump interrupted.
The CNN reporter continued, questioning why Mr Trump characterised the group of people fleeing Central American violence as an "invasion".
"I consider it an invasion," was the President's response. "You and I have a difference of opinion."
- Trump unleashes on reporters in post-midterms press conference
- US Attorney-General Sessions resigns after being asked by Trump
- Trump hails 'tremendous success' despite losing House
Mr Acosta protested that the migrants were still "hundreds of miles away".
"I think you should let me run the country, you run CNN and if you did it well, your ratings would be much better," Mr Trump replied, before moving on to another question.
Mr Acosta tried to continue his question, to which the President pointed at him and repeated: "That's enough. Put down the mic."
"CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them," Mr Trump said. "You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn't be working for CNN.
"The way you treat [Press Secretary] Sarah Huckabee is horrible, and the way you treat other people is horrible."
As Mr Acosta protested the barrage of insults being levelled at him from the highest office in the country, the President told him to sit down.
"When you report fake news, which CNN does a lot, you are the enemy of the people."
The verbal attack on a respected journalist shocked many in the US and around the world, as did Ms Huckabee Sanders' tweets following the press conference.
"President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration," she wrote.
"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."
Her claim baffled many, as video of the incident appears to show Mr Acosta simply raising his arm to block her attempts to take his microphone away. She then gives up and sits back down.
There is no evidence he "placed his hands" on her, other than when his arm briefly touched hers as she tried to yank the microphone out of his hand.
"The fact that CNN is proud of the way their employee behaved is not only disgusting, it's an example of their outrageous disregard for everyone, including young women, who work in this Administration," Ms Sanders continued.
She then announced the White House had suspended Mr Acosta's press pass until further notice. Mr Acosta himself posted a video of a member of the Secret Servive taking his credentials from him.
Many on social media were outraged by the Press Secretary's claims, with many pointing to the footage as proof they were lies.
That's certainly the view of CNN, who issued a statement saying the company stood behind Mr Acosta and the White House had made the "unprecedented decision" to lie.
Some speculated the Trump administration lashed out because Tuesday's election results were a major win for Democrats, who now control the House, while Republicans retained the Senate.
Democrats now have increased power to investigate the President's possible involvement with Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Newshub.
