CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta fired back at Fox News host Jesse Watters Thursday for suggesting reporters who act like “wild animal[s]” should lose their White House press passes.

Acosta responded via Twitter Thursday evening, saying the remarks came “from a lapdog for the White House.”

This from a lapdog for the White House. https://t.co/cJkJh2aZOi — Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 14, 2018

Watters’ comments came during a panel discussion on “The Five” about CNN contributor Brian Karem’s White House press conference meltdown over the issue of illegal immigrant children separated from their parents. (RELATED: Sarah Sanders Slams Whiny Reporter On Families Separated At Border)

WATCH:

“This guy is an emotional wreck,” Watters said of Karem before bringing up CNN’s Jim Acosta. “He embarrassed himself. He doesn’t belong in that room. It’s like Acosta. I don’t care if you have opinions. Be an analyst. Go debate it on CNN on prime time but don’t pretend to be a non-partisan correspondent and then melt down like that. These people don’t belong there. They are jokes. They need to start ripping press passes away. If you’re going to act like a wild animal, you don’t belong there.”

“Here we go,” said co-host Dana Perino before Kimberly Giulfoyle quipped. “When animals attack!”

“If that was a conservative reporter yelling at a female Democrat press secretary it would be completely different,” said Watters. (RELATED: Jesse Watters Rips Former ‘Nice Kid’ Turned ‘Bomb Thrower’ David Hogg)

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