On Anderson Cooper 360, CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta addressed the White House revoking his press pass. Earlier on Wednesday, Acosta got in a confrontation with Donald Trump at a press conference when he asked Trump about the manner in which he refers to the migrant caravan currently traveling through Mexico. During the confrontation, a young woman briefly attempted to get the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders later tweeted out a statement falsely accusing Acosta of putting his hands on the young woman and stating that his press pass would be revoked until further notice. But Acosta doesn’t think the revocation has anything to do with the incident.

“I do think, Anderson, that this is a test for all of us,” Acosta said. “I do think they are trying to shut us down to some extent inside the White House Press Core, and to some extent I think they're trying to send a message to our colleagues."

Multiple reporters who were in the room at the time came to Acosta’s defense and repudiated the White House’s version of events. As for Acosta, he was given no prior warning that his press pass was being revoked other than Sanders’s tweet. When he arrived at the White House, he was turned away by the Secret Service.

“It was a pretty surreal experience,” Acosta, who has covered the White House for five years, said of the situation. “I never thought in this country that I wouldn't be able to go and cover the president of the United States simply because I was trying to ask a question.”