Showing how delusional CNN and MSNBC are with wall-to-wall coverage of Roseanne Barr’s deranged, racist tweet about former Obama official Valerie Jarrett, it took until at least the ninth question in Wednesday’s White House Press Briefing for the now-fired ABC star to come up.
Nevertheless, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders came ready to respond and not only condemned Roseanne’s comments, but wondered why ABC stopped there and has kept around people like Joy Behar from The View and ESPN’s Jemele Hill and Keith Olbermann despite their own outbursts.
“Has the President spoken to Roseanne Barr, as we know has been a long-time friend of his? And why did he choose to address the ABC policy instead of the underlying issue of concerns about a racist comment that she tweeted out,” wondered NBC White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell.
Sanders stated at the onset that she’s “not aware of any conversations that have taken place” between Barr and the President, but the President’s tweet “was simply calling out the media bias.” She emphasized that “[n]o one’s defending what he said” and that “[t]he President is the president for all the Americans and he’s focused on doing what’s best for our country and you can see that in the actions that he’s taken.”
The White House official cited low employment, “opportunity investment zones,” fighting the opioid epidemic, and Wednesday’s bill signing of “Right to Try” legislation for those struggling with illnesses “to try medication that could actually save their lives.”
“I’d point out while the President signed that legislation and actually addressed America, two networks chose not to cover it and instead covered something totally different in palace intrigue,” she added.
It’s unclear which networks she was referring to, but it aired in part or in full on the Fox Business Network, the Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. CNN aired a brief portion as b-roll footage over a discussion between Inside Politics host John King and White House reporter Kaitlan Collins while CNBC and HLN did not air it.
Here’s the rest of Sanders’s remarks in which she called out Kathy Griffin over her bloodied, severed Trump head scandal and ABC for keeping around Behar, Hill, and Olbermann (click “expand” to read more):
He’s simply pointing out the bias. The President is pointing to the hypocrisy in the media, saying that the most horrible thing about this president and nobody addresses it. Where was Bob Iger's apology to the White House staff for Jemele Hill calling the president and anyone associated had him a white supremacist? To Christians around the world for Joy Behar calling Christianity a mental illness? Where was the apology for Kathy Griffin going on a profane rant against the President on The View after a phot showed her holding president trump's decapitated head and where was the apology for Bob Iger hiring for ESPN Keith Olbermann after his numerous expletive-laced tweets saying the president is a Nazi and even expanding Olbermann’s role after that attack against the President's family. This is a double standard that the President is talking about. No one is defending her comments. They’re inappropriate but that’s what the point he is making.
CNBC’s Eamon Javers asked the other Roseanne question at the 3:07 p.m. Eastern mark and asked if “anyone at the White House” has “been in touch with Bob Iger or anyone at ABC on those incidents in specific and the cancellation of the Roseanne program specifically as well.” Sanders replied that she’s “not aware of any specific or direct conversations.”
While other reporters asked about topics like North Korea, prescription drugs, and the death toll from Hurricane Maria, CNN and MSNBC have continued to play up Roseanne’s repugnant behavior.
And thanks to a panelist on CNN’s New Day, she gave everyone a glimpse into what some people at those like-minded networks think about Trump voters and how they plan to squeeze every possible second out of the Roseanne hubub.
To see the relevant transcript from May 30's White House Press Briefing, click “expand.”
White House Press Briefing
May 30, 2018
3:00 p.m. EasternKELLY O’DONNELL: Has the President spoken to Roseanne Barr, as we know has been a long-time friend of his? And why did he choose to address the ABC policy instead of the underlying issue of concerns about a racist comment that she tweeted out?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: I'm not aware of any conversations that have taken place. The President was simply calling out the media bias. No one’s defending what he said. The President is the president for all the Americans and he’s focused on doing what’s best for our country and you can see that in the actions that he’s taken. You can see where he’s focused on unemployment being at the lowest since 2000. Opportunity investment zones to encourage investment in underserved communites, an opioid initiative to combat a crisis that impacts all Americans and today, the president signed legislation to give patients the right to try medication that could actually save their lives and I’d point out while the President signed that legislation and actually addressed America, two networks chose not to cover it and instead covered something totally different in palace intrigue. A massive piece of legislation that had bipartisan support that was life-changing, literally life changing for millions of Americans, two networks chose not to cover the President's remarks on that. He’s simply pointing out the bias. The President is pointing to the hypocrisy in the media, saying that the most horrible thing about this president and nobody addresses it. Where was Bob Iger's apology to the White House staff for Jemele Hill calling the president and anyone associated had him a white supremacist? To Christians around the world for Joy Behar calling Christianity a mental illness? Where was the apology for Kathy Griffin going on a profane rant against the President on The View after a phot showed her holding president trump's decapitated head and where was the apology for Bob Iger hiring for ESPN Keith Olbermann after his numerous expletive-laced tweets saying the president is a Nazi and even expanding Olbermann’s role after that attack against the President's family. This is a double standard that the President is talking about. No one is defending her comments. They’re inappropriate but that’s what the point he is making.
(....)
3:07 p.m. Eastern
EAMON JAVERS: Sarah, you mentioned Bob Iger a moment ago and asked where is his apology to the White House for criticism of the President and some of the incidents that you cite. Has anyone at the White House been in touch with Bob Iger or anyone at ABC on those incidents in specific and the cancellation of the Roseanne program specifically as well?
SANDERS: I am not aware of any specific or direct conversations.
