Oct 1, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Fox News' John Roberts tears into Trump defenders over white supremacy comments

Axios

Fox News reporter John Roberts criticized White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday for refusing to provide a "definitive and unambiguous" statement condemning white supremacist groups on behalf of President Trump, arguing that she deflected by only pointing to his past statements.

Why it matters: Roberts pointed out that despite McEnany's insinuation that the media is over-exaggerating the controversy over President Trump telling the far-right Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" at Tuesday's debate, a number of Trump's Republican allies have urged the president to clarify and unequivocally denounce white supremacy.

What he's saying: "If the president didn't know who Proud Boys were, and Joe Biden just threw out the name — if he didn't know who they were, why did he denounce them?" asked a visibly frustrated Roberts.

"Why didn't he say, 'I don't know who they are. Can you give me a little bit more information about them,' and then make a decision about it? So this all remains very puzzling."
"And for all of you on Twitter who are hammering me for asking that question, I don't care. Because it's a question that needs to be asked, and clearly the president's Republican colleagues a mile away from here are looking for an answer for it too. So stop deflecting. Stop blaming the media. I'm tired of it."

Go deeper: McEnany spars with reporters over whether Trump condemned white supremacy

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Fox News' John Roberts tears into Trump defenders over white supremacy comments

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