Journalist April Ryan didn’t mince words with Trump defender Jason Miller after he argued that it’s not the job of the White House press secretary to answer questions regarding the president’s payment to longtime lawyer Michael Cohen.
Things got heated during a CNN panel discussion Thursday as Ryan and fellow contributor Joan Walsh slammed Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for her repeated denials of Trump’s role in the secret payout to adult film star Stormy Daniels. During a press briefing earlier that day, Sanders said her previous denials were made with “…the best information she had at the time.”
The press secretary was visibly irritated during Thursday’s briefing when Ryan pressed her about the payment and asked if she was “blindsided” by the news. Ryan said Sanders took her question personally and chided her use of “street” talk when she said “something like, ‘you don’t know me.'”
“She was feeling like she was in a vice,” Ryan said of Sanders. “… People understand what ‘you don’t know me means,’ and it’s very street. And it leads to a fight, a physical fight. But I’m not there to fight; I’m there to ask questions and I’ve been doing it for 21 years — very well.”
That’s when Miller jumped to Sanders defense.
“I thought Sarah did fantastic today,” Miller stated. “…The fact that we’re talking about Sarah not making a bunch of news, and that’s actually driving the news, I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing. I mean, the fact of the matter is, this White House should have had, and this presidency should have had, an outside counsel [that] was handling these types of issues a year ago.”
“This is not the job of the White House, this is not the job of the White House press secretary. Sarah does a fantastic job every single day,” he added.
Ryan staunchly disagreed, however.
“No, it’s not true. “I’ve been there 21 years and I remember impeachment with Bill Clinton—” she quipped before being cut off by Miller, who questioned why she was taking this so personally.
“Why am I taking it personally? Because she attacked me,” Ryan said. “She attacked me for asking a question. Don’t go there, honey. Don’t try and make this about me.”
Watch more of the heated discussion above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86cpNp6sRCw
