In Wednesday’s must-see exchange during the White House Press Briefing, ABC senior White House correspondent Cecilia Vega grilled Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders about an early morning Trump tweeting wondering whether it was time to revoke media press credentials (presumably from the White House). Needless to say, Sanders was locked and loaded to respond.
“Sarah, the President today on Twitter suggested stripping journalists of their press credentials. Is that a line that, as Press Secretary, you would be willing to cross,” Vega first asked.
While it should be noted in fairness that Sanders didn’t directly answer the tweet, her answers indicated that this wasn’t going to happen. Sanders immediately hit back that “I’m standing up in front of you right now taking your questions.”
Sanders also mentioned how a number of White House reporters have complimented the Trump White House publically and privately for its accessability.
“We're very committed to a free press and I think that we demonstrate that every single not only by me being up here and taking your questions as I'm doing right now, the President did it just a couple of hours ago...and will be in front of the press later tonight as well,” she added.
Vega followed up with not so much a question as a mini-take of sorts: “How was the suggestion of taking American journalists' press credentials away advocating for a free press in this country? Those two do not go together.”
To Sanders’s credit, she then uncorked a doozy of an answer featuring two outrageous print media claims from the last week (click “expand” to see the whole thing):
The fact I'm taking questions, the fact that the President took questions from your colleagues just two hours ago demonstrates this White House’s commitment to accessible and to providing information to the American public. At the same time, the press has a responsibility to put out accurate information. Just yesterday, The New York Times accused the Secretary of State for being AWOL. AWOL when he was flying across the globe to bring three Americans home. There is an outrageous claim. Just earlier this week, The Washington Post accused the First Lady of not living in the White House. That outrageous claim was then repeated again in this room. We are here, we are taking questions, we are doing everything we can to provide regular and constant information to the American people and there is a responsibility by you guys to provide accurate information and we're going to continue to try to work with you as I'm doing right here, right now and as the President did just a couple of hours ago.
Sanders tried to move onto the Fox News Channel’s John Roberts, but Vega wanted to keep sparring a little longer by wondering how reporters would be able to ask questions at the White House without credentials. The White House Press Secretary simply replied “And you are, so you’re clearly sitting right here, asking them right now.”
To see the relevant transcript from May 9's White House Press Briefing, click “expand.”
White House Press Briefing
May 9, 20183:57 p.m. Eastern
CECILIA VEGA: Sarah, the President today on Twitter suggested stripping journalists of their press credentials. Is that a line that, as Press Secretary, you would be willing to cross?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: I'm standing up in front of you right now taking your questions. I think a number of you have mentioned both off-air or on-air, in private and on a number of occasions this is one of the most accessible White Houses. We're very committed to a free press and I think that we demonstrate that every single not only by me being up here and taking your questions as I'm doing right now, the President did it just a couple of hours ago and has made multiple sets of remarks and will be in front of the press later tonight as well.
VEGA: How was the suggestion of taking American journalists' press credentials away advocating for a free press in this country? Those two do not go together.
SANDERS: The fact I'm taking questions, the fact that the President took questions from your colleagues just two hours ago demonstrates this White House’s commitment to accessible and to providing information to the American public. At the same time, the press has a responsibility to put out accurate information. Just yesterday, The New York Times accused the Secretary of State for being AWOL. AWOL when he was flying across the globe to bring three Americans home. There is an outrageous claim. Just earlier this week, The Washington Post accused the First Lady of not living in the White House. That outrageous claim was then repeated again in this room. We are here, we are taking questions, we are doing everything we can to provide regular and constant information to the American people and there is a responsibility by you guys to provide accurate information and we're going to continue to try to work with you as I'm doing right here, right now and as the President did just a couple of hours ago. John?
VEGA: You know if we’ll be able to ask those questions without those credentials in this room?
SANDERS: I'm sorry.
VEGA: We wouldn't be able to ask these questions that you’re here to answer without these credentials.
SANDERS: And you are, so you’re clearly sitting right here, asking them right now.
