Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted a doctored video to justify banning a reporter from the White House
At a post-midterms press conference yesterday, November 7th, President Donald Trump made headlines after a belligerent interaction with CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta. Following the highly publicized incident, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused Acosta of “placing his hands on” a White House intern via a tweet, and said the journalist’s White House press pass had officially been revoked. She shared a doctored video of the incident—one that originated on the alt-right conspiracy site InfoWars. The manipulated video appears sped up in order to make the interaction between Acosta and the aide look intentional and aggressive.
"President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration," Sanders tweeted. "We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable."
Sanders continued by asserting, in a bold-faced lie, that Trump has given an unprecedented amount of access to the press. She also blamed CNN for the encounter before concluding that “the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.”
President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern…
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) November 8, 2018
This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporter’s colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) November 8, 2018
As a result of today’s incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) November 8, 2018
Here’s the video that Sanders shared:
We stand by our decision to revoke this individual’s hard pass. We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video. pic.twitter.com/T8X1Ng912y
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) November 8, 2018
And here’s the same footage, unedited.
WATCH: President Trump and CNN's Jim Acosta's heated exchange: "CNN should be ashamed of themselves, having you working for them" https://t.co/MFSLg9L78v pic.twitter.com/k9YL8XmObP
— The Hill (@thehill) November 8, 2018
In the real video, it’s clear that Acosta was trying to keep hold of the microphone while the aide tries to retrieve the mic, and any contact he had with the intern appears to be accidental. The video that Sanders tweeted out seems to be sped up, which makes the interaction look aggressive and intentional as opposed to unintentional contact while the aide attempts to grab the mic.
CNN also issued a statement in defense of Acosta saying that Sanders “provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened.”
Tonight the White House revoked @Acosta’s press pass. CNN’s response to @PressSec and @realDonaldTrump: pic.twitter.com/EY2iFLvP3P
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 8, 2018
All things considered, we’re not surprised to see the White House spreading yet another lie, but it’s still important to call out the government for misleading the public. Sharing a manipulated video goes beyond deception; it is a colossal disservice to the people the government is supposed to serve. The press is not the enemy of the people—no matter what the Trump administration says.
