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