Hard Line?

How should the U.S. react to slaying of Jamal Khashoggi?

The horrific murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi sparked headlines and outrage around the world. The CIA concluded Khashoggi was killed on the direct orders of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Since then President Donald Trump has offered conflicting statements about the U.S. response. On one hand, he acknowledges the Saudi leader may be responsible. On the other, he indicates the U.S. will take little if any action to hold the prince and the Saudi government responsible, citing oil prices and the conflict with Iran as reasons the U.S. needs a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia.

We want to know what you think. Should the U.S. take a hard line against the prince and Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi killing? Or is it more important to maintain our relationship with the Saudis?

Send your response (50 words maximum) to opinion@texarkanagazette.com by Wednesday, Nov. 28. You can also mail your response to the Texarkana Gazette Friday Poll, at P.O. Box 621, Texarkana, TX 75504 or drop it off at our office, 101 E. Broad St., Texarkana, Ark. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. We will print as many responses as we can in next Friday’s paper.

Last Week: President vs. CNN?

Last week’s question was about President Donald Trump pulling CNN reporter’s Jim Acosta’s White House press credentials after a contentious exchange. Was the White House right to bar Acosta? Or did it overstep its authority?

I was watching MSNBC when Acosta was trying to get President Trump to answer a question—which he did not want to answer. So the President overreacted and uttered his usual small-minded, vindictive rhetoric at Acosta, and unjustly banned him. W.H. has since fully restored Acosta’s press pass, rightfully so. — J.B., Texarkana, Ark.

The only thing the White House did wrong was not escorting him out of the press conference immediately. Tired of these grandstanding reporters that just want to report anything negative about the president. Why not report all the news good, bad, positive, and negative. — G.H., Texarkana, Ark.

Acosta was right the White House was wrong. The President can’t just answer the easy questions or the questions he likes. The President should be able to handle all questions. Maybe the White House should just have FOX asking questions at press briefings. — J.B., Texarkana, Ark.

No. This is not Russia or some fascist regime. A free and aggressive press is crucial for our democracy. Like Nixon, Trump hates the press for questioning his pathological mendacity. However, Nixon never formally pulled a reporters credentials. We should all give thanks to smart, tenacious main stream journalists. — J.W., Texarkana, Texas

If something is given and it is reciprocated with a hard time, it can be retrieved. White House gives press passes. Acosta would not button his lip at a cost of his pass. He got a slap on the wrist and a kick in the pants and the return of his pass.—J.R., Hope., Ark.

From www.facebook.com/texarkanagazette

■ CNN needs shut down

■ Acosta was rude and would not give the aide the microphone. Ban him.

■ Did you run an article in Texarkana Gazette when Obama did the same thing? Did you ask the same question of the people? I totally agree with President Trump. Acosta needs to stay out!

■ He should have been shown the door, without benefit of it being opened. Have you noticed that none of the other pool reporters have commented? Wonder why?

■ To be in the White House as a reporter is a privilege. Behave and stay. CNN wasn’t banned, Acosta was. Send a different reporter. I think the judge was wrong.

■ CNN is as bad about lying as those Hollywood tabloids. That has no place in the White House.

■ I think they have a right to ban him. Being a jerk, hogging the mic, and bleating his opinions at the President is not journalism. It’s being a bag of hot air.

■ The White House does not host these press events for CNN alone, this reporter lets no other affiliate ask questions nor does he ask ‘fair and unbiased’ questions. The individual was banned and should stay that way, CNN news was not!

■ If 45 stops acting like a child in pre-k, and answer questions he got asked, maybe reporter would act different. Acosta just repeated what 45 said a while ago. So why can’t he not just for one time tell the truth? He started all that and should apologize to Acosta. But that ain’t gonna happen because wannabe dictator thinks he’s always right. Keep asking questions Jim Acosta, that’s what you supposed to do.

■ The White House was right. Acosta was disrespectful, rude and infringed on the rights of other reporters in the room.

■ This reporter was rude and was trying to hog the briefing. He was asked several time to sit down and be quite by the President. He refuses and the mic was being taken at which time he chopped at the arm of the lady handling that position.The judge had no business being involved in this matter … I feel the President was right in his decision. JMO

■ He never lost his press credentials — only access to WHITE HOUSE! Report it correct if you’re going to report.

■ They were totally right to pull his pass and admonish him. He tries to rudely filibuster at every news conference! He is rude and disrespectful every time!

■ IQ45 and his White Witch Huckabee were dead wrong. That (intern/actor) was probably paid to cause this “incident”… And so far, no one has published her name, which is also suspicious.

■ Even this bleeding heart liberal thinks that when a journalist becomes the story he/she should be disciplined or replaced. The press ask questions and Trump answers, truthfully, when possible, and when it serves his agenda.

■ Did you all forget that freedom of the press is in the first amendment, which is first in the Bill of RIGHTS, or do y’all just not care?

■ The judge did not rule on whether there was a broader violation of the First Amendment. Federal District Judge Timothy J. Kelly zeroed in on the Fifth Amendment “due process” protections that were raised in a 1977 legal battle in which a reporter was denied White House press access. The U.S. Court of appeals, in that case, said there should be a process in which the government explains why it is denying access.

■ No I think he should have to apologize.

■ Does anyone remember that Obama had a reporter removed from one of his press conferences and, if I remember right, the reporter was not as disrespectful as Acosta was. Sure, his press pass needs to be pulled!

■ This President is a fighter. Not like the last 3. Lies has been spread on him since the beginning. Watch the interview with Oprah Winfrey, he has never changed his position on anything.

■ The White House was right to bar Acosta. Freedom of the press does not cover a reporter’s behavior. What a shame that the White House must now apply guidelines as to how reporters should conduct themselves.

■ Acosta should have shown more respect for the president. Freedom of the press doesn’t mean any journalist can just say or do whatever they want.

■ The best thing to do is just “FREEZE” him out don’t let him ask any questions.

■ No, the White House was wrong!

■ Acosta is only making a name for himself. He needs to sit down and shut up sometimes. He’s not the only one there with questions.

■ So Obama threw a reporter out of “his house” the left CHEERED! Trump pulls Acosta’s pass for rude behavior and everyone freaks out? Its called BIAS behavior!

■ If you don’t want someone in your house you have the right to ask them to leave! President Trump has that right. Reporters have the privilege of being asked to be there. They should not abuse that right..

■ I’m not sure I would have pulled his pass but Hell would freeze over before he got acknowledged again. Never again. Ghost.

■ The White House belongs to Americans. I am an American and I would have thrown him out.

■ It was Trump whining because the real media demands the TRUTH … we are sick of his LIES .. well he calls them alternative facts. If Trump would just tell the TRUTH the media wouldn’t have to be so forceful to get the truth out of him. and when he finally cracks well he just tells more lies to cover up the ones that he tells … or he back steps what he says. Trumps a liar and you can’t believe anything that comes out of his or Sanders’ mouth!

■ Acosta was rude and the President was right— that being said, the judge was also right.

■ White House is so very right

■ Overstepped

■ Acosta is a rude, vile person, he shouldn’t be allowed back in the White House. We will see if he’s learned anything from his experience. I hope they never call on him again.

■ President had that right.

■ Acosta was doing his job. Asking tough questions is exactly what the press is supposed to do. He wasn’t rude. Trump is the rudest man ever in the White House and getting worse by the day. Reporters are not there to sing praises to Dear Leader. Deigning to be granted an audience isn’t a favor one must earn from him or any other politician. It’s our right, and our right that these people elected answer our questions.

■ They should have revoked them the first time he acted like a jerk

■ Bar him by all means.

■ I stand with the White House. Didn’t Obama do the SAME thing with a female reporter kicked her off Air Force 1. No one is throwing a fit about that incident! Hypocrites!

■ Ban Acosta for life.

■ The guy is a jerk. I would never call on him again.

■ He’s acting like a spoiled child some folks have resorted to laying hands on.

■ Without a doubt Acosta was very rude (he generally is) there is no room for a bully to try to control the conversation and make it totally one sided. He has the right to ask a question, as do we. But not to try to control and disobey the floors rule … simple disruptive disrespect!

■ You want the news to show the President getting disrespected by a reporter, but have other countries respect us and take us seriously. No one will take our country seriously if just anyone can talk crap to the President.

■ Get someone else. Any body can ask questions

■ Overstepped. One thing to continually call them the fake news network then they try to ban the reporters from reporting! Sounds Puntin-ish to me.

■ I think the White House was in the right to ban him from the White House briefings. He was rude, hogged the mic, and was asked to stop several times.

■ Should have been tossed a year ago!

■ I stand with POTUS … Acosta is confrontational, rude and distorts (#fakenews) the news. When will the press understand people wants facts not their opinions.

■ From someone who worked in a PR world, I would say that if you don’t abide by the rules then you forfeit your rights …

■ Your house, your rules

■ Ban him. We wouldn’t allow someone to disrespect us in that way, or I wouldn’t.

■ That darn CNN is just so unfair! Fox News must be a left wing snowflake station too. They supported Acosta in this and not Trump. Must also be a lefty judge that reinstated the press pass. They’re everywhere and everyone is just picking on this poor man. SAD. Heading outside to rake to prevent local forest fires.

■ I think barring him temporarily was justified. However, the White House evidently didn’t have good policies in place to cover this type of activity by a reporter. There is more than one reporter in the press pool. He shouldn’t take more than his allotted time. He does just want attention or doesn’t like Trump. That doesn’t give him license to act in that manner. If he can’t abide by decorum rules then he should be replaced with someone from CNN that can.

■ President was right. Reporter was rude. Reporters have always been aggressive, but they should not be disrespectful. Nor do they have the right to invade personal property or personal space. Their right to report should have limits, and they should have facts to back up what they report.

■ Acosta is a embarrassment to all news outlets. He oversteps his rude attitude and should be put in the back right hand corner and never allow him to get called on and never have a mic in his hand. He needs a guard beside him when he enters White House grounds and never left alone. Disgusting rude man.

■ It’s plain to see Acosta wants attention! He is rude and disrespectful. I do not care who is president. Show respect! Respect the office! Ban anyone who thinks they are above the moral code of the highest office in the land! He is an embarrassment!