President-Elect Trump Goes After Obama Press Secretary Josh Earnest in Speech

Trump took on Josh Earnest tonight in Pennsylvania.

ByABC News
December 15, 2016, 8:34 PM

— -- President-elect Donald Trump took new jabs at White House press secretary Josh Earnest tonight in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

"This foolish guy, Josh Earnest, I don't know," Trump told the crowd. "You know, having the right press secretary is so important because he's so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad. He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have totally defeated ISIS, and it wouldn't sound good, OK?"

Trump then added, "Maybe he is getting his orders from somebody else?"

The jabs follow an escalating feud between the Trump transition team and the White House over Russian involvement in the U.S. election. Earnest doubled down on his statements that Trump knowingly benefited and even encouraged Russian hacking in his victory over Hillary Clinton.

"It is just a fact -- you all have it on tape -- that the Republican nominee for president was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent, because he believed that would help his campaign. It is not a controversial statement. I'm not trying to be argumentative. But I am trying to acknowledge a basic fact," Earnest told reporters today.

Trump's Pennsylvania rally was another stop on his "thank you" tour. Trump has used these rallies to air grievances or comment on news relating to the transition.

Trump was previously scheduled to hold a news conference today, which would have been his first since Election Day. That news conference, in which he was expected to detail how he'll cut ties to his businesses, has been postponed until next month.

Trump triumphed in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, a win that proved vital to his election victory. Green Party candidate Jill Stein's efforts for a recount of the vote in Pennsylvania was blocked in court Monday. The state later certified the election results.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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