One reporter asked Sanders if she agrees with the president's daughter that the press is not the enemy of the people. Sanders refused to say that the president doesn't agree with his daughter and refused to defend the press. Instead, Sanders spoke about her own experience of being politely asked to leave from a Virginia restaurant.
“Certainly the president himself has stated he doesn’t like the idea of family separation," Sanders said. "I don’t think anybody does. We also don’t like the idea of open borders. We don’t like the idea of allowing people into our country if we don’t know who they are, where they’re going, and why they’re coming."
She touted the president's call to secure the border, his success with the economy and that "ISIS is on the run." She said the media ignores such things and instead demands answers to scandals instead.
"That’s real news and something that people in the state of Florida and across this country appreciate and that was ignored," she continued. "Not only that before a journalist on CNN claimed that the president hadn’t taken questions in over a week despite the fact that same journalist in a live shot from the two and two press conference that the president had with the prime minister of Italy with minutes after making that accusation. This is understandable for the president to be frustrated.”
Tuesday, Acosta reporter was surrounded and verbally attacked by Trump supporters. The president then attacked the media from the podium at the rally.
That's when he stepped in to follow up on the question.
"She asked you about Ivanka Trump’s statement that the press is not the enemy of the people," he began. "She asked you whether or not the press is the enemy of the people. You read off a laundry list of your concerns about the press and then things that you feel were misreported built you did not say that the press is not the enemy of the people. I think it would be a good thing if you were to state right here at this briefing that the press, the people who are gathered in this room right now, doing their jobs every day, asking questions of officials like the ones you brought forward earlier are not the enemy of the people. I think we deserve that."
Sanders said that the president has made it clear what his position is.
"I also think it’s ironic — I’m trying to answer your question. I politely waited and I called on you even after you interrupted me when I called on your colleague," she chided the CNN reporter.
"It’s ironic, Jim, that not only you and the media attack the president for his rhetoric when they frequently lowered the level of conversation in this country," she continued as Acosta asked for a follow-up question. "Repeatedly, repeatedly the media restarts personal attacks without any content other to incite anger. The media has attacked me repeatedly, said I should be harassed as a life sentence. ICE officials are not welcomed in their place of worship. When I was hosted by the correspondents' association you brought up a comedian to attack me."
She lamented that she was the first press secretary in history to have received secret service protection, but didn't acknowledge the reporters who have also had to have security after the president attacked them.
"The media continues to ratchet up the verbal assault against the president and everyone in this administration and certainly we have a role to play but the media has to role to play for the discourse in this country as well," she said.
Acosta said that he was very sorry that the horrible things happened to her. He was sorry she was attacked by a comedian.
"You did not say in the course of those remarks that you just made that the press is not the enemy of the people," he said. "Are we to take it from what you just said, we all get put through the wringer, we all get put through the meat grinder in this town and you’re not an exception and I’m sorry that happened to you. I wish that did not happen."
He noted that for the sake of democracy, the United States and the people in that room, surely they could all agree that the press is not the enemy of the people.
"The president of the United States should not refer to us as an enemy of the people," Acosta continued. "His own daughter acknowledges that and all I’m asking is if you acknowledge that right here and right now."
Acosta followed up with CNN's Brooke Baldwin in an epic commentary about the White House's attacks on the media.
"I'm tired of it," he said.
Watch video below:
