Wednesday on ABC’s “The View,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended President Donald Trump against the show’s attacks, telling the panel they were “pushing a false narrative.”
Partial transcript as follows:
HUCKABEE SANDERS: I think we need to get back to a little bit less editorial comments from the media and a little bit more fact delivering to the American people.
HAINES: My clarification, when he refers to the media, that’s a massive group of people. Technically, we’re media. There are journalists. I feel by specifying when there’s something wrong, that is a responsibility of the administration, because the problem is, you have American people now distrusting because this has been a talking point of his and the administration’s. It’s dangerous because the media is here for a purpose. It has a very important historical role and when people that don’t know the difference in these mediums, you’re taking away a check and balance.
HUCKABEE SANDERS: It’s always for the media to live up to the responsibility, to present factual information. A lot of times I sit in a room —
HAINES: I think you need to say we read this article and that is problematic because there are like, thousands of us, and we can only do our part individually. When you call out all of us each time, we take the fall for when we do do backup research and present information, you’re making us all take that fall.
HUCKABEE SANDERS: I think that goes both ways. The media characterizes all Republicans, all conservatives, all Democrats. That happens on both sides. When you take those generalities, and that is I think, a give and take, not just from the administration, but also from the news media.
BEHAR: Is the media supposed to not report on the fact that 95% of what he say is a lie?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: The problem with that, Joy, is that — you are doing exactly what we’re talking about and pushing a false narrative.
BEHAR: No, it’s not.
HUCKABEE SANDERS: 95% of what the president says is not a —
BEHAR: It’s PolitiFact. It’s not just the dreaded “New YorkTimes.” It is other outlets that say it. Five percent of his statements are true. Five percent. And you, I feel for you. I feel sorry for you that you have to go out and defend those lies every day.
HOSTIN: And that has been documented. The face of, really, the administration, what do you say to the American people when you have a boss that engages in untruths?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: Well, again, I completely disagree with the fact that what you’re saying is only 5% of that is true. I know that is simply not accurate and I think that’s one of the dangers we have right now is pushing so many false narratives every day, creating false perceptions about the president. I think America should want him to succeed. He is the president, whether they voted for him or not, and I think we have to get behind him. We should be championing for his success because his success is America’s success.
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