Sarah Sanders leaving White House: Trump announces press secretary is quitting post
During her time as press secretary, Ms Sanders has been repeatedly criticised by some for her hostility towards the press and its function as a watchdog of the president
Donald Trump says that Sarah Huckabee Sanders leaving her post in the White House, and heading back to her home state of Arkansas.
In tweets, the president praised his outgoing press secretary, and said he hopes she runs for the governor’s mansion when she returns home.
“After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas,” Mr Trump wrote.
He continued: “She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job! I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas – she would be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for a job well done!”
Since taking over as Mr Trump’s second press secretary in July of 2017, Ms Sanders has become one of the most prominent faces of the Trump administration, and has reshaped the way the White House interacts with the press that covers it.
During her tenure, Ms Sanders essentially oversaw the cancellation of the daily White House press briefings, and was frequently criticised by the press for what has been perceived as a hostile approach to the White House press corps and media that covers the president.
President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media
Show all 16
President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media
1/16 "You are fake news!"
Then President-elect Trump directed this insult to CNN's Jim Acosta while refusing him a question at a press conference on January 11 2017. The President-elect's anger was due to the publishing by Buzzfeed of unverified memos that implicated Michael Cohen in Russian collusion. CNN had reported on a briefing of Obama and Trump on the memos by US intelligence chiefs, but knowing the content to be unverified had not revealed it
AFP/Getty
2/16 "They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth"
President Trump said this of journalists during a visit to the CIA on the the day following his inauguration. His claim of having the largest crowd of any inauguration ceremony in history had been debunked and he clearly wasn't happy
Reuters
3/16 "Failing New York Times"
President Trump commonly addresses the New York Times in this way, contrary to its increasing profit margins and expanding global readership. He is pictured here in the midtown Manhattan office of the paper
Getty
4/16 "Enemy of the American People"
President Trump has since repeated the claim that such news outlets are the enemy of the people, often after they break negative stories about him
5/16 "They have no sources"
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 24 2017, President Trump suggested that a Washington Post article with 9 sources was "made up". The article in question exposed how then National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence over a phone call to a Russian ambassador. That the article was "made up", while highly doubtful at the time, seems even less likely since Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the same phone call
Reuters
6/16 Access denied for major publications
Protesters gathered outside of the New York Times office after Trump's White House barred a number of publications from attending a press briefing on February 24 2017. Just hours after the President had again denounced the media, then Press Secretary Sean Spicer denied access to news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times, while permitting Breitbart News, CBS, Fox and others
AFP/Getty
7/16 "#FNN"
On July 2 2017, President Trump tweeted an edited clip from his Wrestlemania XXIII appearance in which the CNN logo had been imposed onto the face of his wrestling opponent Vince McMahon. CNN is a common target for President Trump and here he suggests that he is getting the better of the network through his repeated attacks
8/16 "The most powerful TV show in America"
On July 27 2017, President Trump quoted a New York Times article about Fox & Friends. The President is known to watch Fox & Friends every morning, often tweeting about matters discussed on the show, leading to speculation over its influence on his outlook and policies
Getty
9/16 "It's frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write"
In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on October 11 2017, President Trump suggested that the press ought not to be allowed their constitutionally secured freedom. He added "people should look into it", suggesting that he also doesn't respect the protection of sources. At the time, he was angry at an NBC report claiming that the President had expressed a desire to return the size of the US' nuclear arsenal to its 1960s height, a claim that he and others in his administration dismissed as fake news
AFP/Getty
10/16 "negative (Fake)"
In a tweet on 9 May 2018, President Trump conflated negative reporting about him with fake news
11/16 "I didn't criticise the Prime Minister"
In a press conference with the Prime Minister on his visit to Britain, President Trump disputed claims published in the Sun that he had criticised Mrs May's Brexit strategy
Reuters
12/16 "Horrible, horrendous people"
At a Republican rally in Pennsylvania on August 3 2018, President Trump deemed all journalists in attendance "horrible, horrendous people". He later denounced the "fake, fake, disgusting news" for falsely reporting that he was late to his meeting with the Queen when visiting Britain
AFP/Getty
13/16 Trump's rhetoric "very close to inciting violence"
In an interview with the Guardian on 13 August 2018, the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein suggested that President Trump's attacks on the press are "very close to inciting violence". Zeid singles out the President's repeated claim that the fake news (negative coverage) media is the "enemy of the people" as dangerous
Reuters
14/16 "anonymous source" = fiction
President Trump claimed that any report citing anonymous sources is fiction. The protection of sources is a vital matter of press freedom, without it a potential source's fear of repercussions could lead them to withhold important information
15/16 "You are a rude, terrible person"
At a press conference in the wake of the midterms, President Trump clashed with CNN's Jim Acosta when he asked about the President's use of language during the campaign
Reuters
16/16 "I would never kill Journalists"
For any journalists frightened by President Trump's attacks on the press, perhaps you can take solace in his words from a campaign rally in Grand Rapids on December 21 2015. Responding to remarks over Vladimir Putin's handling of journalists, Trump stated: "I hate some of these people, but I'd never kill them... I'll be honest - I would never kill them. Uhhh lets see.. no, I never would"
Getty
1/16 "You are fake news!"
Then President-elect Trump directed this insult to CNN's Jim Acosta while refusing him a question at a press conference on January 11 2017. The President-elect's anger was due to the publishing by Buzzfeed of unverified memos that implicated Michael Cohen in Russian collusion. CNN had reported on a briefing of Obama and Trump on the memos by US intelligence chiefs, but knowing the content to be unverified had not revealed it
AFP/Getty
2/16 "They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth"
President Trump said this of journalists during a visit to the CIA on the the day following his inauguration. His claim of having the largest crowd of any inauguration ceremony in history had been debunked and he clearly wasn't happy
Reuters
3/16 "Failing New York Times"
President Trump commonly addresses the New York Times in this way, contrary to its increasing profit margins and expanding global readership. He is pictured here in the midtown Manhattan office of the paper
Getty
4/16 "Enemy of the American People"
President Trump has since repeated the claim that such news outlets are the enemy of the people, often after they break negative stories about him
5/16 "They have no sources"
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 24 2017, President Trump suggested that a Washington Post article with 9 sources was "made up". The article in question exposed how then National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence over a phone call to a Russian ambassador. That the article was "made up", while highly doubtful at the time, seems even less likely since Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the same phone call
Reuters
6/16 Access denied for major publications
Protesters gathered outside of the New York Times office after Trump's White House barred a number of publications from attending a press briefing on February 24 2017. Just hours after the President had again denounced the media, then Press Secretary Sean Spicer denied access to news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times, while permitting Breitbart News, CBS, Fox and others
AFP/Getty
7/16 "#FNN"
On July 2 2017, President Trump tweeted an edited clip from his Wrestlemania XXIII appearance in which the CNN logo had been imposed onto the face of his wrestling opponent Vince McMahon. CNN is a common target for President Trump and here he suggests that he is getting the better of the network through his repeated attacks
8/16 "The most powerful TV show in America"
On July 27 2017, President Trump quoted a New York Times article about Fox & Friends. The President is known to watch Fox & Friends every morning, often tweeting about matters discussed on the show, leading to speculation over its influence on his outlook and policies
Getty
9/16 "It's frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write"
In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on October 11 2017, President Trump suggested that the press ought not to be allowed their constitutionally secured freedom. He added "people should look into it", suggesting that he also doesn't respect the protection of sources. At the time, he was angry at an NBC report claiming that the President had expressed a desire to return the size of the US' nuclear arsenal to its 1960s height, a claim that he and others in his administration dismissed as fake news
AFP/Getty
10/16 "negative (Fake)"
In a tweet on 9 May 2018, President Trump conflated negative reporting about him with fake news
11/16 "I didn't criticise the Prime Minister"
In a press conference with the Prime Minister on his visit to Britain, President Trump disputed claims published in the Sun that he had criticised Mrs May's Brexit strategy
Reuters
12/16 "Horrible, horrendous people"
At a Republican rally in Pennsylvania on August 3 2018, President Trump deemed all journalists in attendance "horrible, horrendous people". He later denounced the "fake, fake, disgusting news" for falsely reporting that he was late to his meeting with the Queen when visiting Britain
AFP/Getty
13/16 Trump's rhetoric "very close to inciting violence"
In an interview with the Guardian on 13 August 2018, the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein suggested that President Trump's attacks on the press are "very close to inciting violence". Zeid singles out the President's repeated claim that the fake news (negative coverage) media is the "enemy of the people" as dangerous
Reuters
14/16 "anonymous source" = fiction
President Trump claimed that any report citing anonymous sources is fiction. The protection of sources is a vital matter of press freedom, without it a potential source's fear of repercussions could lead them to withhold important information
15/16 "You are a rude, terrible person"
At a press conference in the wake of the midterms, President Trump clashed with CNN's Jim Acosta when he asked about the President's use of language during the campaign
Reuters
16/16 "I would never kill Journalists"
For any journalists frightened by President Trump's attacks on the press, perhaps you can take solace in his words from a campaign rally in Grand Rapids on December 21 2015. Responding to remarks over Vladimir Putin's handling of journalists, Trump stated: "I hate some of these people, but I'd never kill them... I'll be honest - I would never kill them. Uhhh lets see.. no, I never would"
Getty
According to CNN, which cited sources close to Ms Sanders, running for the governorship of Arkansas may be more than just an afterthought of the presidents.
Those sources indicated that Ms Sanders had talked about that effort in recent weeks, and said that she believes it would be a better career move than taking up a highly paid position in television, as other former Trump aides have done.
Ms Sanders would likely need to wait a couple of years, however, as the current governor of the state, Asa Hutchinson, recently won re-election just this past November.
The governor’s office will not be vacant until after the 2022 elections, then, unless Mr Hutchinson is appointed to a new job by the president — and accepts — or resigns.
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