White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday journalists are not the enemy of the people, a charge often lobbed by her boss, President Trump.
Ms. Conway said some journalists have been unfair in their coverage of the Trump administration in an attempt to boost their own egos, appearing to refer to CNN’s Jim Acosta, who was heckled by Trump supporters at a rally in Florida last week.
After the rally, Mr. Acosta hammered White House press secretary Sarah Sanders about the president’s rhetoric against the press.
“The temperature needs to be dialed down overall,” said Ms. Conway during an appearance on CBS “Face the Nation.”
“I don’t think journalists are the enemy of the people,” she added.
Her comments come after the president took to Twitter hours earlier to denounce fake news, calling it the enemy of the people and blaming the media for causing war.
“The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!” Mr. Trump tweeted.
Ms. Conway said the president’s statement shouldn’t be taken as a broad brush.
“He said it really refers to those not telling the truth,” Ms. Conway said. “The president wants people to get information - news they can use.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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