Sanders fires back at April Ryan's 'ridiculous question'
Kayleigh McEnany and Jessica Tarlov debate the journalist's question at the White House press briefing.
CNN’s April Ryan said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders should pay for a bodyguard Ryan has hired, accusing Sanders of “stirring” up death threats against Ryan.
“Oh, I get approached a lot, when I'm walking from my car, when I'm walking to my car, when I eat. Anywhere I go. I mean, they have put a target on my head, and I don't know who's who sometimes,” Ryan told the Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday.
“I've had death threats. I've had craziness. ... Do I have a bodyguard? Yes, I do. Am I paying for it? Yes, I am. And, I think [Sanders] should have to pay for it, especially if she's stirring it up with her boss," she added.
"Do I have a bodyguard? Yes, I do. Am I paying for it? Yes, I am. And, I think [Sanders] should have to pay for it, especially if she's stirring it up with her boss."
Ryan, who’s also the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, made the comments as she was promoting her new book, “Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House,” which details her experience covering the Trump administration.
“What's happening is unprecedented. ... I've been under attack. And lied on. Treated terribly. And if I don't tell the story, you won't get it. So, I'm putting it out there, because people see one side of it,” she said, though not revealing why none of her employers are footing for the bill for her personal security.
Ryan insists the White House put her on a “blacklist” over her questions during press briefings, claiming the administration was “still very angry” over Ryan once asking Trump whether he is a racist.
“The blacklist. The White House blacklist ... Me, [CNN chief White House correspondent] Jim Acosta. We're on the blacklist. [CNN White House correspondent] Kaitlan Collins. People they don't like," Ryan added.
Ryan has been embroiled in constant bickering with the White House ever since the beginning of the Trump administration. In May, she misquoted Sanders’ words in order to make the unfounded suggestion that the press secretary was seeking a physical confrontation with her.
The same month Ryan also shared a conspiracy article to her 336,000 Twitter followers alleging that the Trump administration was involved in child sex-trafficking.
“If you’re a journalist w many followers & a @CNNPolitics contributor...is it ok to retweet any headline you want, regardless of if it’s true?” Stephanie Grisham, First Lady Melania Trump’s spokeswoman, wrote in a tweet.
“Remember: 'The core purpose of a journalist is to research, document, write, & present the news in an honest, ethical, & unbiased way.'”
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