Jim Acosta gets heckled by huge crowd at Trump rally — while he's on air

CNN reporter Jim Acosta defiantly reported that he would continue covering a rally for President Donald Trump despite a large crowd heckling him while he was live on the cable news channel.

Here's what happened

Wolf Blitzer went live to Acosta at a GOP rally in Tampa, Florida, Tuesday. Trump was speaking in support of the gubernatorial campaign for Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.).

"There is no other way to describe what the White House is doing these days, Wolf," Acosta reported. "Top officials, including the president, are hiding from the press."

"And Wolf, just to give you a sense of what's happening right now," he added, "you can hear there is a chorus of boos and other chants in this Trump crowd here in Tampa, Florida."

"They're saying things like 'CNN sucks,' 'go home,' and 'fake news,'" he said.

"Wolf, obviously all of those things are false," Acosta continued. "We're staying right here, we're going to do our job and report on this rally to all of our viewers here tonight, Wolf."

"As you should, all right Jim," responded Blitzer.

Here's the video of Acosta being heckled on air:

The combative audience reaction was captured on videos in social media as well.

.@Acosta being heckled by crowd at @realDonaldTrump rally in Tampa, people screaming “CNN sucks” and “you’re a liar” and chants of “fake news” and “Trump, Trump” pic.twitter.com/RxnFwYpoWo

— Zac Anderson (@zacjanderson) July 31, 2018

@realDonaldTrump supporters protest against @CNN reporter @Acosta at @realDonaldTrump rally in Tampa, Florida. @TB_Times pic.twitter.com/mpArxHW9Q2

— Octavio Jones (@OctavioJones) July 31, 2018

WATCH: The crowd at Trump's Tampa rally lets Jim Acosta know just how much they love him. 😂 pic.twitter.com/Xisl4EgtTW

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) July 31, 2018

Trump has tossed much of his ire against the network and many CNN journalists, with Acosta being one of his main targets. Acosta has used his platform to criticize the president vociferously, causing some to accuse him of being unfairly biased against Republicans.

In June, Acosta was criticized by many on the right for yelling questions at the president during a break in the summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Later that month he was "shushed" by a member of the audience at the White House as he tried to shout questions to the president.