White House press secretary Sarah Sanders responded Monday to comments made by a reporter saying she should have her head “lopped off” for lying to the media.
April Ryan, a veteran Washington journalist now with CNN as an analyst, used a euphemism Friday while saying Sanders should lose her job after it was revealed in the Mueller report she had lied to the press about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey.
“The American people can’t trust her. They can’t trust what is said from the president’s mouthpiece,” Ryan said. “When there is a lack of credibility there … you have to start and start lopping the heads off.”
Sanders called the remark a new low for Ryan, who has had run-ins with administration representatives on more than one occasion.
“I’ve had reporters say a lot of things about me. They said I should be choked, they said I deserve a lifetime of harassment but I certainly have never had someone say that I should be decapitated,” Sanders said. “This takes us to a new low even for the liberal media. It just once again proves why this journalist isn’t taken seriously.”
.@AprilDRyan on Sarah Sanders lying to the press: “When there is a lack of credibility … you have to start lopping heads off.” @PressSec responds: “I’ve certainly never had someone say that I should be decapitated. This takes us to a new low, even for the liberal media.” pic.twitter.com/ZwEQLODYEs
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 22, 2019
Ryan was referencing a passage in the Mueller report that exposed Sanders for lying, saying she “told the press after Comey’s termination that the White House had heard from ‘countless’ FBI agents who had lost confidence in Comey. But the evidence does not support those claims.”
Sanders last week said that she misspoke when she used the word “countless” but that Comey deserved to be fired regardless and listed his termination as one of the key accomplishments of President Trump’s first term.
Mike Huckabee, a former presidential candidate and governor of Arkansas, is Sanders’ father.
“How does a person sit there in that space at the White House pressroom claiming to be a reporter and journalist and have such over-the-top opinions about the White House press secretary who does, yes, happen to be my daughter,” Huckabee said. “Sure, pops is a little sensitive about it. But I think it was outrageous and CNN never called her out.”
The Mueller report findings are only the latest quarrel between Ryan and Sanders.
After a spat during a press briefing with Sanders last year, Ryan hired bodyguards, alleging she had received death threats and said Sanders should reimburse her.
Sanders on Monday said she’s not concerned with the opinions of Ryan or other White House journalists who attack her personally.
“I spent the weekend with my family thinking about the things we’re grateful for,” she said. “One of the things I’m most grateful for is all of the things the president has accomplished … Our team needs to remain focused on how we keep pushing those things that actually help Americans and not engage in petty fights with journalists that are just looking for a couple more minutes on TV.”
