Trump fan in MAGA hat heckles local TV reporter — and CNN's Jim Acosta jumps in to defend 'abused' journalist

A video pinned to the top of a local TV news reporter's Twitter page shows a woman wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat heckling him on camera — and it's getting some viral attention.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot

"Hi fake news! Hi fake news!" the woman yells at Michael Gordon of KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas. "Fake ass news! Fake ass news! Y'all are fake! You're fake! You're fake! You spread fake news! You should be ashamed of yourself! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Image source: Twitter video screenshot

Gordon keeps his cool — and for good measure, the woman gets in a few chants supporting President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

The woman also held a sign that read "CNN" and "FAKE BY OMISSION" and "NO COLLUSION" — the latter in reference to special counsel Robert Mueller finding that neither Trump nor his campaign conspired with the Russians to interfere in the 2016 election.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot

Gordon later posted that he holds "absolutely no ill will towards the woman in that clip" and added a shout out to his photographer.

CNN's Jim Acosta jumps into the fray

CNN's Jim Acosta — whom Trump famously targeted in a news conference just prior to his inauguration, calling Acosta "fake news" and launching the phrase into the public consciousness — was not happy that Gordon got heckled.

"Just look at how this El Paso area TV reporter is abused," Acosta tweeted. "How is this appropriate behavior?"

He added a #nottheenemy hashtag, in reference to Trump calling fake news organizations the enemy of the people.

Acosta's reaction got far more attention — 24,000 likes and over 7,000 comments — than Gordon's original post. And while it appeared most commenters agreed with Acosta, he had his detractors as well:

• "What about the abuse President Trump & his supporters have had to endure by the 24/7 fake media coverage with hoaxes to demonize us from Covington to Russia Collusion...ever thought of that Acosta?"
• "But it's OK when liberals physically attack people for wearing a red hat? Refusing Trump supporter services in restaurants, coffee shops? This woman didn't touch him. She was being truthful. U have lied & lied over and over again about Russian collusion. U can't even say sorry."
• "Getting called out for being caught spending three years straight LYING and slandering innocent ppl, whipping up hysteria that endangered lives, got ppl seriously injured, and promoting a hoax that divided a country, is 'abuse'??"
• "These idiots in mainstream media have conducted themselves in a way that proves Trump correct more or less. It can't be denied, way to go CNN and mainstream media! You just handed trump a huge gift and a ton of credibility."

'The next step is violence'

Eric Spillman of KTLA-TV in Los Angeles tweeted about the incident, "Excellent work under challenging conditions. It's this kind of behavior I find frightening. The next step is violence. We should all be worried."

Freelance reporter Rebecca Aguilar noted, "Kudos to you. I would have called the cops and said I felt that I was in danger. I am glad you are OK."

Oh, and there was a second round

A separate clip Gordon posted showed apparently the same woman — and she was a little nastier this time.

(Content warning: profanity):