Last Updated Oct 29, 2018 3:02 PM EDT
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Monday defended the president’s defense of himself, after the president has continued to attack the media and his critics in the wake of the bomb threats against Democrats and CNN, and Saturday’s deadly massacre at a Jewish synagogue.
In the first press briefing since Oct. 3, Sanders said the president will continue to draw contrasts between Republicans and Democrats ahead of next week’s midterms.
In the days leading up to next week’s midterms, the president has faced a nation in times of crisis, after suspicious packages have been sent to prominent Democrats and CNN, and after a man gunned down peaceful Jewish worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday. But Sanders defended how the president has handled those situations, saying he will continue to draw contrasts between Republicans and Democrats, and will continue to defend himself against what she described as unfair, negative media coverage. Sanders wouldn’t say which outlets the president views as enemies of the people, although Mr. Trump in the past has said up to 85 percent of outlets are fake news.
Sanders became emotional when she expressed outrage over Saturday’s attacks, particularly when she mentioned the president’s Jewish family members.
Sanders said Mr. Trump “adores Jewish Americans as part of his own family. The president is the grandfather of several Jewish grandchildren. His daughter is a Jewish American and his son-in-law is a descendent a holocaust survivors.”
Mr. Trump — consoling in scripted speeches while still attacking opponents on Twitter — has himself faced questions about whether he’s living up to his own call for the nation to unify. The president has taken to blaming the media for the “anger” plaguing the country.
“There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news,” the president tweeted Monday morning. “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…….of Anger and Outrage, and we will then be able to bring all sides together in Peace and Harmony. Fake News Must End!”
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