White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders turns to leave at the conclusion of the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
It was a good day for Fox News and a bad day for CNN’s media firefighter Brian Stelter after the announcement Fox made that they were bringing former White House Press Sec. Sarah Sanders on as a political contributor in September.
From the press release:
FOX News has signed former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a contributor, the network announced today. Sanders will provide political commentary and analysis across all of FOX News Media, including FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX Nation and the radio/podcast division. She will make her debut on FOX & Friends during its next live audience show on September 6th.
In commenting on the announcement, Sanders said, “FOX News has been the number one news organization in the country for 17 years running and I am beyond proud to join their incredible stable of on-air contributors in providing political insights and analysis.”
From July 2017 through June 2019, Sanders served as the White House Press Secretary for President Donald Trump. As the third woman and first mom to ever hold the position, Sanders was the administration’s chief spokesperson. She joined the administration as Deputy Press Secretary in January 2017 after previously working as a senior advisor for the president’s election campaign.
Sanders posted a tweet noting her excitement:
Excited to join @FoxNews as a contributor, looking forward to being with the @foxandfriends team for my first hit on September 6th. https://t.co/Jb2HCFc1aM
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) August 22, 2019
As did her dad, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee:
Today, @FoxNews revealed just how smart they are! Another Huckabee joins the "A" team! Welcome aboard, baby girl! If you had signed w/ CNN, you'd been voted off the island! https://t.co/kG3TWS2vVh
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) August 22, 2019
Others, however, were not so pleased – Stelter chief among them. Here’s what he wrote:
Wrote this about Spicer and ABC last night, now it applies to Sanders and Fox too: How should ex-White House officials be treated when they spend months misleading the public, then seek positions of fame and privilege?
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 22, 2019
Dana Loesch was one of many who took him to the woodshed:
Disagreement doesn’t = willfully misleading. This attitude is partly why people refuse to see others — regardless the party — as anything other than walking issues. It dehumanizes others and the person doing it in the process. https://t.co/wQNJMjPirs
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 22, 2019
His response back, of course, was weak sauce:
We are living through a period of official lying that's unprecedented in our lifetimes. The president misspeaks so much, with such gusto, that it's become the defining feature of his administration. This isn't about "disagreement," as you claimed. It's about deception.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 22, 2019
His next answer, however, was hilarious. After a Twitter user pointed out just some of the many, many lies told by the Obama administration, Stelter laughably claimed they were “called out forcefully by the press” (LMAO!):
And those examples were called out forcefully by the press. I understand why this false equivalence feels good to you. But the current president lies at a rate that's unprecedented. Every day, he could choose to stop. Instead, the lying is getting worse.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 22, 2019
He really believes that. Seriously. He really does.
Needless to say, he was destroyed by other commenters who noted his and his network’s hypocrisy on the matter (as well as other news networks that have done similarly):
Is it your position that Jay Carney, David Axelrod, George Stephanopoulos and all those other former Obama/Clinton WH officials who effortlessly segued into news media jobs were bastions of truth telling?
— Brian Cates (@drawandstrike) August 22, 2019
You tell us, @brianstelter pic.twitter.com/fEwENS2MKO
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 22, 2019
Same way CNN does with
Valerie Jarrett
Laura Jarrett
Jim Sciutto
Josh Campbell
David Axelrod
James Clapper
John Brennan
John Kirby
etc…— Cheryl Benson (@cbensonhunt) August 22, 2019
— "Fredo" is racist toward Italians who are dumb (@jtLOL) August 22, 2019
— David Henry (@imau2fan) August 22, 2019
CNN “journalist” Oliver Darcy got in on the act, too, and got roasted:
https://twitter.com/HOLYSMKES/status/1164561510066085888
Bonus take:
Anyone from #CNN talking about people misleading the public is hilarious https://t.co/5lHaoNrlC5
— WVU Pat Harris (@lyncofta) August 22, 2019
Meanwhile, in other news:
One of your fellow CNN anchors allegedly sexually assaulted another man, while another threatened to throw a guy down a flight of stairs.
They’re still on the air.
— BMP (@BlMarketParade) August 22, 2019
And let’s not forget CNN political contributor April Ryan instructing her bodyguard to throw a journalist out of the room during a speech she gave earlier this month. The journalist was assaulted as he was forced out of the hotel lobby and Ryan’s bodyguard is now facing assault charges. Legal action may be coming against Ryan soon, too.
Still no comment from Stelter (or Darcy) on any of it. Surprise.
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— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –
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