White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders addressed reporters on Friday and claimed Donald Trump has never encouraged violence against journalists – in fact, she says, he has consistently condemned such a thing.
She said: “I certainly don’t think that the president at any point has done anything but condemn violence against journalists or anyone else.”
The president is typically one of the first people to condemn the violence, and the media is the first people to blame the president.
Sanders had been responding to a question about whether or not Trump will stop his anti-media rhetoric following the arrest of white nationalist Christopher Hasson. The Coast Guard lieutenant reportedly had a list of Democrats and journalists he wanted to kill – and he’d even stockpiled weapons and targeted CNN and MSNBC reporters on his list.
Sarah Sanders just said Trump hasn't "at any point" done anything "but condemn violence, against journalists or any… https://t.co/6QU4u0aNTw— Scott Dworkin (@Scott Dworkin) 1550848186
People were quick to point out that, contrary to what she says, Trump has attacked the media on multiple instances
How long did the conditioning take for @PressSec to learn to consistently lie with a straight face. Does she actu… https://t.co/DPgBxzNrzZ— Tara Setmayer (@Tara Setmayer) 1550935567
@funder @PressSec Trump hasn't "at any point" done anything "but condemn violence, against journalists or anyone el… https://t.co/iRKHjnFDEo— sandypriester (@sandypriester) 1550850525
@funder @PressSec She is daft. Us as journalists are scared to do our job. I may be in Canada, but his rhetoric has impacted us globally.— Jess Balzer (@Jess Balzer) 1550848895
@funder @PressSec Does she even read the daily threats he makes on Twitter against the media??— Heather (@Heather) 1550851148
@funder @PressSec Does she realize that there are hours of video proving the contrary— PaizPaiz63 🇺🇸 (@PaizPaiz63 🇺🇸) 1550871926
@TaraSetmayer @PressSec @Honestly_Tara This is very scary if she is being believed by anyone https://t.co/S4sFJ2Fi5y— Doris Morehouse (@Doris Morehouse) 1550939408
In fact, here are some of the times he's been harsh against journalists.
1. On Wednesday, Trump called The New York Times the “enemy of the people,” prompting publisher A G Sulzberger to warn that it:
Is encouraging threats and violence against journalists at home and abroad.
2. Last October, Trump made a flippant comment at a rally about Rep. Greg Gianforte’s assault of a Guardian journalist.
He said:
Any guy who can do a body slam, he’s my kind of – he’s my guy.
3. In July he retweeted an edited wrestling video in which he physically assaults CNN
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