White House reporter explains the 'cognitive dissonance' necessary to be Sarah Huckabee Sanders

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has to tell herself "stories" about President Donald Trump, resulting from the "cognitive dissonance" required to be an evangelical Christian in the White House, Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus explained on MSNBC.

Anchor Chris Jansing introduced the Monday segment in the context of the "bad news" continuing to "pile up for the president."

Jansing read quotes from a lengthy New Yorker profile of Sanders, who is the daughter of Baptist minister and former politician Mike Huckabee.

"There has to be enormous amount of cognitive dissonance in being an evangelical supporter of President Trump, given his past behavior, and the present way he treats people," Marcus explained.

"That has to be multiplied many times if you are his chief spokesperson," she added.

"And so, you need to just keep telling yourself stories -- really, that's the way I interpret it -- about why this is justified and why the greater good is to continue to vouch for this person, whose behavior you may privately find repellant," Marcus continued.

"And it's an interesting insight into the human condition, of what we need to tell ourselves, to get that job done," she concluded.

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