CNN's Jim Acosta Presses Sarah Sanders On 'Enemy' Media Outlets In Tense Exchange
- 6 years ago
Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday had a tense exchange with CNN's Jim Acosta.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and CNN's Jim Acosta had a tense exchange on Monday regarding President Trump's recent "enemy of the people" tweet. At the day's press briefing, Acosta asked: "Shouldn't you reserve the term 'enemy' for the people who are actually the enemy of the United States rather than journalists." Sanders replied, "The president's not referencing all media. He's talking about the growing amount of fake news that exists in the country," prompting Acosta to ask more questions. Among them was, "Can you state for the record which outlets that you and the president regard as the enemy of the people?" After the press secretary stated that "those individuals probably know who they are," the CNN reporter inquired, "Would that include my outlet which received the bomb last week?" She declined to answer the question directly, but when Acosta continued to press for a firm response, Sanders said: "I think it's irresponsible of a news organization like yours to blame responsibility of a pipe bomb that was not sent by the president. Not just blame the president, but blame members of his administration for those heinous acts. I think that is outrageous and I think it's irresponsible." The morning Trump tweet that prompted the discussion stated: "There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news. The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly. That will do much to put out the flame."
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and CNN's Jim Acosta had a tense exchange on Monday regarding President Trump's recent "enemy of the people" tweet. At the day's press briefing, Acosta asked: "Shouldn't you reserve the term 'enemy' for the people who are actually the enemy of the United States rather than journalists." Sanders replied, "The president's not referencing all media. He's talking about the growing amount of fake news that exists in the country," prompting Acosta to ask more questions. Among them was, "Can you state for the record which outlets that you and the president regard as the enemy of the people?" After the press secretary stated that "those individuals probably know who they are," the CNN reporter inquired, "Would that include my outlet which received the bomb last week?" She declined to answer the question directly, but when Acosta continued to press for a firm response, Sanders said: "I think it's irresponsible of a news organization like yours to blame responsibility of a pipe bomb that was not sent by the president. Not just blame the president, but blame members of his administration for those heinous acts. I think that is outrageous and I think it's irresponsible." The morning Trump tweet that prompted the discussion stated: "There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news. The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly. That will do much to put out the flame."