White House Fires Back After Flake Says 'Treason Is Not A Punchline'
- 6 years ago
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed Senator Jeff Flake’s denouncement of Trump’s “treasonous” comment regarding Democratic lawmakers.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dismissed Republican Senator Jeff Flake's denouncement of President Trump's "treasonous" comment regarding Democratic lawmakers. When the topic was broached during the Tuesday press briefing, Sanders commented, "I don't really care what Sen. Flake has to say, I don't think his constituents do either and I think that's why his numbers are in the tank." The chain of events leading up to Sanders' response began on Monday when Trump, in the midst of talking to Ohio factory workers about tax reform, brought up Democrats' seemingly unenthusiastic response to his State of the Union address. "They would rather see Trump do badly, OK, than our country do well," the president remarked. "And it got to a point where I really didn't even want to look too much during the speech over to that side. Because, honestly, it was bad energy." "Somebody said 'treasonous.' I mean, yeah, I guess. Why not? Can we call that treason? Why not. They certainly didn't seem to love our country very much," Trump further noted. The following day, Flake said from the Senate floor, "I have seen the president's most ardent defenders use the now-weary argument that the president's comments were meant as a joke, just sarcasm, only tongue in cheek. But treason is not a punchline, Mr. President." "The president said that the State of the Union address was meant to promote and encourage unity in government," Flake also commented. "Then why follow up less than a week later with this divisive and harmful rhetoric?"
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dismissed Republican Senator Jeff Flake's denouncement of President Trump's "treasonous" comment regarding Democratic lawmakers. When the topic was broached during the Tuesday press briefing, Sanders commented, "I don't really care what Sen. Flake has to say, I don't think his constituents do either and I think that's why his numbers are in the tank." The chain of events leading up to Sanders' response began on Monday when Trump, in the midst of talking to Ohio factory workers about tax reform, brought up Democrats' seemingly unenthusiastic response to his State of the Union address. "They would rather see Trump do badly, OK, than our country do well," the president remarked. "And it got to a point where I really didn't even want to look too much during the speech over to that side. Because, honestly, it was bad energy." "Somebody said 'treasonous.' I mean, yeah, I guess. Why not? Can we call that treason? Why not. They certainly didn't seem to love our country very much," Trump further noted. The following day, Flake said from the Senate floor, "I have seen the president's most ardent defenders use the now-weary argument that the president's comments were meant as a joke, just sarcasm, only tongue in cheek. But treason is not a punchline, Mr. President." "The president said that the State of the Union address was meant to promote and encourage unity in government," Flake also commented. "Then why follow up less than a week later with this divisive and harmful rhetoric?"