White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday rebuked reporters who attempted to blame President Trump’s tone for inciting the deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue and the pipe bomb scare.
“That is outrageous that that would be the very first reaction,” she told reporters at a White House briefing.
The scolding was in response to CNN reporter Jim Acosta asking why the president is attaching the press as “enemy of the people” rather than trying to unite the country.
“The very first thing the president did was condemn the attack, both in Pittsburgh and in the pipe bombs,” Mrs. Sanders said. “The very first thing the media did was blame the president and make him responsible for these ridiculous acts. That is outrageous that that would be the very first reaction.
“The only person responsible for carrying out these heinous acts were the individuals who carried them out,” she said.
A gunman, who reportedly was shouting anti-Semitic rhetoric, killed 11 people and wounded six at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday.
A Florida man, whose van was covered with pro-Trump and anti-Democrat stickers, was arrested last week for sending pipe bombs to a dozen prominent Democrat figures, including former President Barack Obama.
None of the pipe bombs detonated.
Mrs. Sanders said that Mr. Trump was no more responsible for these acts than left-wing icon Sen. Bernard Sanders was when one of his supporters opened fire in June on Capitol Hill Republicans at a softball practice.
“The president spends every single minute of every single day looking for the best ways to protect the safety and security of Americans,” she said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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