Politico reporter Marc Caputo mocked attendees of President Donald Trump’s Tampa rally Tuesday night, referring to them as toothless “garbage people.”

UPDATE: After nearly 11 hours, Caputo posts an apology.

I need to apologize for tweeting caustic remarks after seeing a reporter berated & abused. Hate begets hate. My comments referred ONLY to those jeering and swearing at the man, not a broad swath of people. But the fault is mine for causing confusion and feeding anger. 1/3 — Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 1, 2018

In the age of social media, where divisiveness serves no decent purpose, these flippant comments on my part only made things worse and contributed to a cycle of rage that I should not have inflamed further. So I'm sorry. 2/3 — Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 1, 2018

While it’s usually a good idea to just delete tweets that are wrong, I own this and the criticism (both accurate and misleading) that has followed. I'll do better. Here they are: 3/3 pic.twitter.com/G2rZrHjYWb — Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 1, 2018

CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta tweeted footage of being jeered by Trump supporters and claimed to be “very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt.” Reacting to Acosta’s remarks, Caputo mocked the appearance of Trump rallygoers. “If you put everyone’s mouths together in this video, you’d get a full set of teeth,” he wrote.

https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1024499487014875138

When the insult sparked swift backlash, Caputo became defensive and condemned his critics for not being more outraged by the crowd’s treatment of Acosta. “Oh I like a good joke…that was just at the expense of others, which I think isn’t quite so funny. Not your best tweet, Marc,” one Twitter user said. “Oh, no!” Caputo replied. “I made fun of garbage people jeering at another person as they falsely accused him of lying and flipped him off. Someone fetch a fainting couch.”

https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1024519138230902784

Another Twitter user chided Caputo for partaking in the same behavior he lamented — but the Politico reporter remained defiant. “Come on Marc. They are beyond classless but you don’t have to add to the very behavior you’re complaining about,” tweeted David Bishop. “I’d argue i was more clever,” Caputo shot back.

Come on Marc. They are beyond classless but you don't have to add to the very behavior you're complaining about. — David Bishop (@dlb100b) August 1, 2018

https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1024514888591437825

Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak said Caputo’s attack is a reminder why media favorability among Americans has hit rock bottom. “.@Politico reporter shows why Americans hate the news media,” Pollak tweeted.

.@Politico reporter shows why Americans hate the news media. https://t.co/5M0OUbwUVH — Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) August 1, 2018

Caputo joined Politico‘s Florida vertical from the Miami Herald in 2015 and writes the Florida Playbook. According to his biography: “A veteran of the Herald since 2003, Marc was known for his ‘Caputo Cam’ videos from the state Capitol in Tallahassee and his strong reporting. He helped expose campaign-finance scandals that led to two federal convictions.”

Politico similarly came under fire in 2012 when former employee Jonathan Martin (now writing for the New York Times) referred to the Florida panhandle as “cracker counties.”