Washington D.C. [U.S.A.]: A reporter confronted White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Tuesday press briefing, accusing her of “inflaming” tensions with the media and undercutting the credibility of reporters.
After Sanders was asked about whether President Donald Trump accepts the apology from CNN regarding a recent story it retracted about alleged ties between a Trump ally and a Russian investment fund, the spokesperson said, “All we are saying is I think we should take a really good look at what we are focussed on, what we are covering and making sure it’s accurate and honest.”
“If we make the slightest mistake, the slightest word is off, it’s an absolute tirade from a lot of people in this room. But news outlets get to go on day after day and cite unnamed sources, use stories without sources,” she added.
Following this, Brian Karem with The Sentinel Newspaper in Maryland accused her of inflaming the media, reports the Hill.
“You are inflaming everyone right here right now with those words. This administration has done that as well … Any one of us is replaceable if we don’t get it right, the audience has the opportunity to turn the channel or not read us. You have been elected to serve for four years at least, there is no option other than that,” said Karem.
“We are here to ask you questions, you are here to provide answers. And what you just did is inflammatory to people all over the country who look at it and say, ‘See, once again, the president is right and everybody else is just fake media.’ Everybody in this room is only trying to do their job.”