The reporter who clashed with White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders on Tuesday conceded that he may have lost his temper but that “it was a long time coming.”
Brian Karem, the executive editor of the Montgomery County Sentinel, said was explaining his frustration with the White House press team for what he viewed as its tendency to distract instead of answer reporters’ questions.
“Maybe I lost my temper at that moment, but it was a long time coming,” he said before expanding on what has irked him over the past six months.
“I would like the see that taken off and just taken off the table and let us talk about real issues. Let us ask our questions. Quit hitting us with faking media,” Karem said during an interview Thursday evening with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.
MUST WATCH: White House reporter @BrianKarem pushing back against Sarah Huckabee Sanders and saying what many people have been thinking. pic.twitter.com/hW49e0tdWY— Yashar Ali (@yashar) June 27, 2017
He added that even right-wing news outlets, including Brietbart, have “been respectful” to Sanders and White House press secretary Sean Spicer during the press briefings. “They’ve asked tough questions, and the administration has not often been forthcoming with what I would say are factual answers. So yeah. I’m concerned,” he said.
The moment that sparked the tense face-off started was when Sanders brought up a retracted CNN report to condemn the national media. Karem then accused her of “inflaming everybody” by throwing the all of news media into the same group.
Karem also said that while he has a “healthy respect” for both Sanders and Spicer, he got “rankled” when the “dishonest” media talk began.
