Along with the Las Vegas shooting and Puerto Rico, Thursday’s White House press briefing featured a litany of questions about morning tweets by President Trump requesting the Senate Intelligence Committee investigate journalists for their “Fake News.” Needless to say, CNN’s Jim Acosta led the way in showing his profession’s displeasure.
“Sarah, why did the President tweet this morning that he'd like to see the Senate Intelligence Committee investigate news outlets and I guess this quest to go after fake news. Does he — does he value the First Amendment as much as he values the Second Amendment?” Acosta wondered to Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Huckabee Sanders began to respond by stating that Trump “is an incredible advocate of the First Amendment” when Acosta tried to interject (in order to get into a made-for-TV throwdown).
Immediately Huckabee Sanders hit back, telling him that “I allowed you to finish” so it was her turn. The White House Press Secretary continued by noting that “[w]ith the First Amendment, with those freedoms also come responsibilities and you have a responsibility to tell the truth, to be accurate.”
More broadly concerning the media’s attention span for positive stories, Huckabee Sanders added:
I think right now when we've seen recent information that says only five percent of media coverage has been positive about this President and this administration while at the same time you have the stock market and economic confidence at an all-time high, ISIS is on the run, unemployment’s at the lowest it's been in 17 years, we’ve cut regulations at historic pace, fixing the VA. With you've only found five percent of your time to focus on those big issues. No a lot of the things you cover, not a lot of the petty palace intrigue that you spend your time on. I think we need to move towards a certainly more fair, more accurate and frankly a more responsible news media for the American people.
Acosta attempted a follow-up, but Huckabee Sanders quickly moved on.
One America News Network’s Trey Yingst pressed her moments later:
YINGST: Sarah, does President Trump believe the Senate Intelligence Committee should investigate American media organizations?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: I don't know that that's the case, but I do think that we should call on all media to a higher standard and certainly I think I weighed in very clearly what our position is when Jim asked a question earlier.
YINGST: [INAUDIBLE] Senate intelligence committee looking into our fake news networks in our country?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: I think you have a lot of responsibility and a lot of times false narratives create a bad environment, certainly aren't helpful to the American people, and you have a responsibility to provide and report fair and accurate details and, when we don't, that's I think troubling for all of us.
Prior to both reporters asking their questions, Politico’s Matthew Nussbaum went there first, asking “if there's any concern in the White House that the President's frequent use of the fake news to describe mainstream outlets muddies the water a little bit and makes it harder for citizens to identify the actual fake news that the intelligence agencies have said countries like Russia used to interfere in the last election?”
Acosta popped up on CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin once the briefing ended to state that, “Sanders sort of answered the question” later on, “where she said I don't think that's what we're talking about here, something along those lines, but we’re not really definitively answering this question, not definitively closing the door on this.”
In classic Jim Acosta fashion, he then inserted himself into the story:
When — if Congress were to start investigating news outlets, Brooke, we are then something less than the United States of America. That is just an appalling suggestion to come from the President of the United States and Sarah was saying, well, reporters shouldn't engage in opinions and so on, that, I guess, in her mind, amounts to some sort of fake news. But I don't think it's really an outlandish opinion to say that congress shouldn't be investigating news outlets, not in this country, Brooke.
On the issue of gun control, CBS’s Major Garrett and NBC’s Hallie Jackson stood out with questions from the left:
MAJOR GARRETT: Beyond bump stocks, does the president have as open an attitude about other methods of gun control that have long been evaded or is the White House openness, which, as you just described, in being willing to be part of that conversation, limited to one on bump stocks?
(....)
HALLIE JACKSON: You've been very clear the conversation is open to conversations surrounding bump stocks and perhaps other regulations on gun control. Does he want to lead that conversation? Will he get out and use the power of the presidential platform to push for more regulation on, for example, bump stocks which law enforcement officials have said were used in Vegas?
Here’s the relevant transcript from October 5's White House press briefing:
White House press briefing
October 5, 2017
2:25 p.m. Eastern
MATTHEW NUSSBAUM: I'm wondering if there's any concern in the White House that the President's frequent use of the fake news to describe mainstream outlets muddies the water a little bit and makes it harder for citizens to identify the actual fake news that the intelligence agencies have said countries like Russia used to interfere in the last election?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: I think the President has a great frustration with the fact that, a lot of times, you have inaccurate information that's being presented as factual. A lot of times, you have opinions that are being presented as news, and they're not. I think that that is a real concern and something that certainly something should be looked at.
NUSSBAUM: But does he see a distinction between erroneous reports or reports he finds offensive and the type of fake news that we saw pushed during the election by Russian intelligence. Does he see a distinction there?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: We see a problem with any stories that are inaccurate or untruthful being presented to the American people as facts.
(....)
MAJOR GARRETT: Beyond bump stocks, does the president have as open an attitude about other methods of gun control that have long been evaded or is the White House openness, which, as you just described, in being willing to be part of that conversation, limited to one on bump stocks?
(....)
GARRETT: Just to be accurate on that. Bump stocks is what you're open to having a conversation about and that's it for the moment?
(....)
JIM ACOSTA: Sarah, why did the President tweet this morning that he'd like to see the Senate Intelligence Committee investigate news outlets and I guess this quest to go after fake news. Does he — does he value the First Amendment as much as he values the Second Amendment?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: Absolutely. The President is an incredible advocate of the First Amendment. But with the First Amendment —
ACOSTA: You know going after journalists if they disapprove of the President —
HUCKABEE SANDERS: — hold on. I allowed you to finish. With the First Amendment, with those freedoms also come responsibilities and you have a responsibility to tell the truth, to be accurate. I think right now when we've seen recent information that says only five percent of media coverage has been positive about this President and this administration while at the same time you have the stock market and economic confidence at an all-time high, ISIS is on the run, unemployment’s at the lowest it's been in 17 years, we’ve cut regulations at historic pace, fixing the VA. With you've only found five percent of your time to focus on those big issues. No a lot of the things you cover, not a lot of the petty palace intrigue that you spend your time on. I think we need to move towards a certainly more fair, more accurate and frankly a more responsible news media for the American people.
ACOSTA: May I — may I — Sarah, if I can follow up on that.
HUCKABEE SANDERS: Sorry, I'm going to try to get to everybody like I’ve told your colleague if I have time.
ACOSTA: Very quickly, should Congress investigate news outlets?
