Margaret Sullivan, a former New York Times public editor and current media columnist for the Washington Post, blasted Sarah Huckabee Sanders for her handling of Rob Porter’s departure and her regard for women at large.
Margaret Sullivan, a former New York Times public editor and current media columnist for the Washington Post, blasted White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for her handling of Rob Porter's departure and her regard for women at large. Porter resigned from his position of staff secretary last week amid allegations that he abused his two ex-wives. In the time since, there have been a number of questions about how long the White House was aware of the allegations and why they weren't acted upon sooner. Further clouding matters was President Trump's Saturday tweet that read, in part, "Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation…Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?" Sullivan, in a piece published on Tuesday, says of Sanders' sometimes sneering responses to the issue, "Watching the press secretary at Monday's briefing, the words that came to mind were these: A new low." "Time after time Monday, Sanders stuck to her pallid script, repeating without elaboration the words she said the president had told her to say, expressing his supposed support for domestic violence victims, although just days before he seemed much more sympathetic to those accused of abuse, specifically his deposed aide Rob Porter," Sanders continues. On the topic of whether President Trump and his administration take the allegations of abuse seriously, Sanders gave the familiar-sounding response during the press briefing, "the President takes all of these accusations very seriously. He believes in due process." Sullivan writes in regard to Sanders' treatment of the issue, "With her dismissive gestures, her curled-lip sneers, her ready insults and guilt-free lies, Sanders is a conduit — a tool — for Trump's own abusive relationship with journalists. Does it really make sense to keep coming back for more?"
