A heated exchange has erupted between former CNN anchor Jim Acosta and Fox News host Jesse Watters, centered around the controversial construction of a White House ballroom by former President Donald Trump. Acosta, 54, who has been criticized by Watters for his opposition to the project, took to social media platform X on Wednesday to fire back. He labeled Watters as a “rapidly aging Fox propagandist” and a “outrage [adult film] star.” Acosta also suggested Watters “has a major crush on me,” adding, “Two segments in the last week. Dude, take a cold shower. The feeling will go away. Maybe Sean [Hannity] can give you a hug? Also, less makeup. A little too Madame Tussauds.”

Acosta’s remarks were a response to segments where Watters accused him of politicizing the ballroom project. Watters, 47, dismissed the criticism with a term he coined as “Ballroom Derangement Syndrome.” He quipped on his show, Jesse Watters Primetime, “The Democrats are fighting over a ballroom. Just like during COVID, CNN has a live tracker. Jim Acosta is camping outside the White House in tears. He’s just mad Trump’s building a big, beautiful thing during the [Chuck] Schumer shutdown, when the whole point of the shutdown is suffering.”

Watters further elaborated, “Republican presidents aren’t supposed to enjoy their presidencies. They’re supposed to be under siege and hounded out of town like scoundrels, constantly having to flip-flop and apologize and fire staff. Not Trump. He’s making peace, building big, beautiful things, tossing sombreros on their heads.” In another segment last week, Watters humorously displayed a photoshopped image with Acosta’s face superimposed on a baby’s body.

An accompanying chyron read: ‘Baby Jim wins a TDS Award.’ TDS is an acronym for ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’, a term conservatives use to pan liberals critical of Trump. ‘JUST IN: A new STRAIN OF TDS is SPREADING— “Ballroom Derangement Syndrome”‘ Watters wrote on Facebook Friday as he reshared the clip of Acosta and others speaking out against Trump’s demolition.

Acosta had announced ‘he was at the scene of the crime’ while standing outside the complex in the clip, posted to his Substack on October 22. Acosta, a former CNN White House correspondent, left the network in January as Trump began his second term.

Watters accused him of trying to be ‘the Rosa Parks’ of journalism in 2019 after a viral incident that saw Acosta’s press pass revoked after he struggled with a White House intern over a microphone. ‘This from a lapdog for the White House,’ Acosta responded at the time.