Jun 13, 2019
Some of Sarah Sanders' most controversial claims as press secretary
Photo: hip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Outgoing Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has been in her role since July 2017, and has made a variety of controversial comments defending the actions of President Trump during her tenure.
The big picture: Sanders has been one of Trump's most loyal defenders. Sanders has also been one of the longest-serving press secretaries in this administration, but took the role of adviser toward the end of her tenure.
What she's said:
- Sanders defended Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey by telling reporters “countless members of the FBI” no longer had confidence in Comey's ability to lead the bureau, reports Vox. The Mueller report revealed that Sanders mischaracterized the dismissal, to which she defended as a "slip of the tongue."
- After the White House revoked the press credentials of CNN's Jim Acosta, Sanders shared an allegedly doctored video of Acosta grabbing a microphone violently from a female White House staff member.
- Sanders defended a false narrative that 4,000 known or suspected terrorists have entered the U.S. illegally through "vulnerable" points along the U.S.-Mexico border, per CBS.
- During a press conference, Sanders defended Trump when he said people who enter the country illegally are "animals." She said he was referring to the gang MS-13, and didn't go far enough in her opinion, per PBS.