White House Press Secretary Called Out For Claiming Trump Quick To Condemn Violence Against Press 

When asked to comment Friday on the arrest of U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson, who was allegedly caught researching acts of domestic terrorism and amassing more than a dozen firearms while compiling a list of prominent Democratic lawmakers and journalists from CNN and MSNBC, President Donald Trump said, “I think it’s a shame. I think it’s a very sad thing when a thing like that happens.”

But when pressed if he bears any responsibility for moderating his own language, the president replied, “No, I don’t. I think my language is very nice.”

Earlier Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the president is one of the first to come to the press’ defense when journalists face threats. “I certainly don’t think that the president at any point has done anything but condemn violence against journalists or anyone else,” Sanders said when asked about the president’s tweets against the media and its potential to incite extremists. “In fact, every single time something like this happens the president is typically one of the first people to condemn the violence and the media is the first people to blame the president.”

Journalists and press freedom organizations were quick to call Sanders out on Twitter. Jamil Smith, a senior writer at Rolling Stone, said “This is simply not true.” Trump, Smith tweeted, “Encourages harassment at rallies. Gave Gianforte an atta-boy after he assaulted a reporter. Went soft on the Saudis after the suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And this would-be terrorist was echoing Trump’s own rhetoric. Come on.”

The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a nonprofit that works to preserve journalists’ rights, pointed to Trump’s comments following Republican Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte body-slamming a reporter while running for re-election.