John Legend lambasted President Donald Trump’s behavior at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday after the president ripped into CNN’s Jim Acosta, labeling him a “rude, terrible person.”
On Twitter, the singer called Trump a “fucking embarrassment.”
Acosta had asked the president about the racist, anti-immigration ad from his re-election campaign that was subsequently banned from airing by Facebook, NBC, Fox, and elsewhere. Trump tore into the journalist after he refused to sit down.
“I’ll tell you what, CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them,” said Trump to Acosta. “You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN.”
Legend has long been a critic of Trump, telling The Daily Beast prior to the election in 2016 that the then-candidate was “utterly unqualified.”
“Trump’s been a public personality forever and that’s fine if you want him to be a reality TV host, but if you want him to be president there’s a different standard,” Legend said at the time. “And remember, his entry into being a Republican was questioning the citizenship of the first black president.”
Chrissy Teigen, model, author, and Legend’s wife, often criticizes Trump’s behavior as well. Teigen and Legend even celebrated Trump’s birthday in June with a massive donation to the ACLU after seeing the administration’s policies that separated children from their parents when families crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
“John and I are outraged to see and hear the horror stories of immigrant families seeking asylum and refuge in America being ripped apart due to inhumane policies of the Trump administration,” wrote Teigen about their decision to both donate to a good cause and sass Trump. “These actions are cruel, anti-family and go against everything we believe this country should represent.”